Public Playhouses of Early Modern England

Both of the following are sketches

of just some of the indoor playhouses

by the famed Jacobean architect

Inigo Jones:

The Cockpit

The Swan

Wollstonecraft

Question: Remember how, as we were making modern connections with Wollstonecraft, and how she described that, in being educated, women of the eighteenth century (and their subsequent generations, I assume) would become more productive members of society?

Well, I ironically wrote about basically-the-same-thing for my Chinese final paper. I chose "Chinese women's education," and the research I found asserted that exact thing: that, with compulsory higher education for Chinese women (who have lived through quite an oppressive history), they would be able to lead fuller and more productive lives as participating members of society. Ma Wanhua, for example, is a professor at Peking University, and has written at length on the topic of higher education in China. It's funny how Wollstonecraft's thoughts are so relevant, not just in the West, even, but in the East today too.

The only qualm I have would be to ask exactly how women (eighteenth century, Chinese, or what have you) are going to contribute more to society. In other words, what does the phrase "contribute to society" actually mean for these women? And then, what if other things continue to stand in their way? I guess I might say that education for women, at any point in time, is one step towards a higher goal.

Olaudah Equiano and the Middle Passage

I think it would be super interesting to do some research on the middle passage. After seeing that small picture of it in the Equiano book in which there is the diagram of the layout of the ship and it shows how the people taken for slavery were "packed" in there, quite like sardines, it has really captured my interest as an interesting aspect of Equiano's life. It's interesting to think about because the total disregard for their physical (and by extension, possibly mental) comfort on the journey through the middle passage therefore also blatantly ignores their basic human rights. The fact that more would-be slaves died en-route also speaks to the irony of those basic human rights, too - besides not being able to help becoming seriously ill due to the conditions on the ships, some slaves attempted to throw themselves overboard. It's shocking to consider that they would have rather died in that way than remain alive and enslaved. I would love to do more research on this! An interesting topic, but still chilling nonetheless.

Golden Is Thy Fame

Yes, I went there with the title. It totally fits! Inspired by the rad cover of the Oxford edition of Letters of a Peruvian Woman and by our discussion of such gilded things (what up Hoop) I thought I would do a little research and see what I could enlighten myself with about golden Incan art.

I think we can safely assume that the golden objects present everywhere in Peru (as observed by Zilia) are a symbol of Incan civilization. There's a twist, though: the Incans do not seem to realize the value of the gold, in stark contrast to their overly greedy captors. It's everywhere you look: pounded into furniture, adorning the Temple of the Sun, and probably draping from more than a few human appendages (at least maybe some special people). Heck, it's über pretty and why not use it as a tool to represent the most sacred part of their culture and religion: the sun? A fair part of their lives seems to have been centered around sun worship. Indeed, Zilia assumes this new European land she has been brought to must be hallowed ground as well, for if the sun - assuming its fatherly figure, of course - allows its rays to reach here, then things must be alright somewhere.

The Incas probably would have retained an extensive knowledge of this precious metal. I bet they were great metallurgists (would goldsmiths be a better word? Did they work much with other metals?)

Here are some really cool artifacts similar to the mask-looking item from the cover. I found them on an online photo gallery called Odyssey, in case you wanted to look them up yourself (click on Odyssey). There are a ton of beautiful pictures of other Incan treasures, too.

1. Feline Idols (maybe to adorn the walls of a temple or home?)2. Nose-ring - HB, I suppose maybe you could consider this? Just kidding. Where would this even go? 3. Mask. I really like this one. Maybe it's the photo but it's such a brilliant color!

4. Earrings. I REALLY REALLY MUST HAVE A PAIR!

5. Crown. Notice how elaborate it is!

6. Goblets. (for drinking mais, or "corn beer"!)

Oroonoko

Remember how I was saying in class that, in compiling my bibliography for my preliminary topics, I was finding a lot of sources on both Othello and Oroonoko (together) about interracial relationships? The term for it is actually miscegenation, and if you look on JSTOR or any other database there's lots of information on the subject. For my topic it had a

I wanted to bring this article from Associated Content to the table because it has some interesting things to say about racism in Aphra Behn's story. If you have a look, you'll notice how critical it is of Behn's racist writings. It says that the many episodes of racism prove to "dilute the power of the story itself," stipulating that this "drag on the theme" was not intended. It goes on to cite a couple of remarks that reveal a "racist mind at work." The logic there is quite interesting.

The next page talks a bit about what we were saying in class, about Oroonoko being "Europeanized" by Behn, and confirms an interesting new take on the hero image we wrestled with. It's like Behn wanted to make him European in order to be a hero. The article then says that "Behn may decry racism loudly, but it didn't stop her from incorporating it into her writing."

However, the article takes an unexpected turn when the author suggests that Behn's "most dangerous form of racism is reserved for members of her own race," mentioning the various ways the white people in the story are portrayed in such negative lights. Still, the book is fairly heavily criticized, with the author implying that the story could have been written much better and its goals could have been achieved without the racist elements.

Did anyone else find Oroonoko to be particularly racist?

Mandeville: The Fable of the Bees

Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733) was a philosopher, political economist, and satirist in the eighteenth century. Not a vast amount of details are known about his life, and today we do not even have an image of him (prompting me to upload the original cover). Although he was born and educated in Rotterdam in the Dutch Republic, he spent the majority of his life in England, where he became so fluent in English that most doubted his status as a foreigner. Mandeville actually began a practice as a doctor, and a well-respected one at that. He later took up writing and it was in England that he published his most famous work, The Fable of the Bees, in 1705. (In case you were wondering, he is not connected with Sir John Mandeville, the 14^th century author of Mandeville’s Travels.) More about the poem will follow in the paragraphs below. Initially, the Fable generated little public interest. However, as we have seen before, it was presented to the King’s court and was received as a “public nuisance” due to its apparent tendency to be morally corruptive. Of course, it then became immensely popular and was heartily debated upon. His insights also were put to use by the Scottish philosophers of the Enlightenment, such as David Hume and Adam Smith. Mandeville still maintained the idea that the pursuit of self-interest can have positive consequences when properly managed.

This poem was originally titled, "The Grumbling Hives or Knaves Turn'd Honest," but the one within the Enlightenment reader was the one published in 1714 with a new title (shown on the cover above) called The Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices, Public Benefits. Interestingly, the poem explains different key principles of economic thought, and becoming the hidden hand of economic development behind Adam Smith's theories. To put it simply, Mandeville defends the claim that private vices can lead to public benefits. In doing this, Mandeville examines human nature very meticulously. Consider this verse about "Physicians" (244-245):

"Physicians valued Fame and Wealth

Above the drooping Patient's Health,

Or their own Skill: The greatest Part

Study'd, instead of Rules of Art,

Grave pensive looks, and dull Behavior;

To gain th' Apothecary's Favor,

The Praise of id-wives, Priests, and all,

That served at Birth, or Funeral;

To bear with th' ever-talking Tribe,

And hear my Lady's Aunt prescribe;

With formal Smile, and kind How d'ye,

To fawn on all the Family;

And, which of all the greatest Curse is,

T'endure th'Impertinence of Nurses."

In Mandeville's view of human nature, he believes that man is a selfish creature who is governed wholly by his passions. Mandeville concludes that, "Thus every Part was full of Vice / Yet the whole Mass a Paradise" (247). So, we see that the beehive is morally corrupt, and yet prosperous, that "Lived in Luxury and Ease." (242). The beehive, however, notices this and desires a chance at virtue, saying,

"Good Gods, had we but Honesty!

Merc'ry smiled at th' Impudence;

And Others called it want of Sence,

Always to rail at what they loved:

But Jove, with Indignation moved,

At last in Anger swore, he'd rid

The bawling Hive of Fraud, and did."

Here, after having complained about their corrupt hive, God decides to give them the virtues they desired. The poem goes on to describe the newly paradise-esque ways of the hive, where Justice is served and those such as the physician from the previous verse exist "Knowing the Gods send no Disease / To Nations without Remedies." (250). However, because personal vice has now been vanished, the prosperity of the hive has dropped significantly: "The Price of Land, and Houses falls" (252). Apparently, however, the virtuous hive does not care about this, for "They counted Ease it self a Vice; / Which so improved their Temperance" (253).

Mandeville concludes that only fools would "strive to make a Great an honest Hive." (254). He shows why personal vice is the key to material progress and sociability, and that "Bare virtue can't make Nations live / In Splendor" (254). People like the Physician place a value on themselves which, in turn, makes them fit for society. Because, at the same time, people have an inexhaustible desire for goods that propel the industry, which increases the wealth of the nation. From this, we see that personal vanity/vice are what make society prosperous.

Discussion Questions

1. While researching Mandeville online, I found a quote from him in which he defines Vice as "every thing which Man should commit to gratify any of his Appetites." Do you agree with this definition? Would you re-write it somehow?

2. Does Mandeville's economic theories play into the bigger picture of the essence of the Enlightenment? In other words, what about his work here suggests and Enlightened point of view?

3. Do you truly think society's prosperity could come to an abrupt halt if everyone suddenly became wholly virtuous? Why or why not?

de Buffon and Reynolds

Comte de Buffon

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) was a French naturalist and encyclopedic author. Although he was a member of the prestigious French aristocracy and studied such subjects as mathematics, medicine, and law, his real interest was in nature and he was never content with the existing explanations of the natural world. Thus, due to his refusal to accept these certain explanations, he formulated his ideas and produced his own account of nature. For that, he is remembered by posterity for his highly comprehensive Histoire Naturelle, générale et particuliére (1749-1788). Among his participation in other schools devoted to art, he was invited to become a member of the Académie Française in 1753, the same year in which he wrote the Discourse on Style. True to his naturalist ways of thinking, he asserted in the essay that Nature was perfect and the ideal.

de Buffon's Discourse on Style

In this essay, de Buffon defines style as "the order and movement according to which a man arranges his thoughts." (319). He goes about mentioning things that will add to the style of your writing. The list includes:

• tight thoughts will lead to concise style, whereas loose thoughts will lead to a dragging style.
• there should be no divisions or interruptions in your writing that would detract from making it clearly understood (think: HUST essays!)
• comparing perfect nature with proper writing, de Buffon shows that true contemplation of nature will give rise to "the most sublime truths."
• in order to write well, you must possess your subject fully.
• truth is an important element that will lend to your style.
• therefore must write only about values that are important to us, that we fully believe in.

Consider, for example, our HUST papers. We cannot go about writing our papers without a plan or an outline. It wouldn't make any sense, the ideas could be all over the place, it probably wouldn't have any structure, and the point you are trying to get at would not be obvious. We also cannot write about something we do not believe in, or about something we have not read. In de Buffon's view, these would all be things to avoid.

Discourse on Style Discussion Questions

1. Do you agree with de Buffon's ways for achieving proper style? Why or why not?

2. Are there any other important steps in achieving enlightened style? In other words, what did de Buffon definitely leave out?

--

Reynolds, Discourse on Art

This selection I found more difficult to understand and more convoluted than the piece from de Buffon. I will try my best to narrow it down (and hopefully stay true to style!).

Reynolds begins by saying that the aim of art is to please. Taste is fixed in the nature of things. Nature, for its part, has a set template, apparently. There is a "set way" that nature should look, like a beautiful woman, for example. To him, we are supposed to paint (or whatever form of art) the most ideal and the most beautiful. A deformity, on the other hand, "is not nature, but an accidental deviation from her accustomed practice." (347). That's what you don't want to paint, what is bad taste. Good taste, then, you have to discover of your own accord. There exist inherently good qualities, and we have to use our enlightened reason to figure out what those are. Then, to keep up with the painting example, we will be able to produce a painting that reflect's nature's highest ideals. A good (and tasteful) painting would be well-proportioned and geometric, for example. I guess something completely unnatural would be wrong, because taste would then not agree with nature. A purple tree, maybe. In the end, I think we would all end up liking the same paintings and other works of art if we all had Reynolds' idea of proper taste.

The difference between taste and genius lies in that genius is the same thing, only plus the powers of execution. The art critic would then have discernment, but the painter would have discernment plus execution.

Basically, I have a problem with the biased way he views taste. It is as if you must learn taste, because the first opinions we receive are not the best - and therein lies the pursuit of taste. It can be either beautiful or deformed. I don't see why I or anyone else would have to adjust my ideas of taste to fit with that of Reynolds. In that case then I suppose many of history's great minds were tasteless. I don't see where Reynolds, while he had some good ideas, became the world's foremost authority on Art.

Discourse on Art Discussion Questions

1. Do you find Reynolds' ideas about taste at all restrictive, and that taste really can depend on many factors and can vary, for example, between cultures? Or, do you think that you can certainly be liking the wrong type of painting and that your taste needs some re-evaluating?

2. Where do you suppose you would learn about these "inherent good qualities" that Reynolds says would lead to having good taste?