In our general view today, the change in the status of women is associated with late modern (or postmodern) rather than modern or modernity. For example, women were granted the right to vote in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and only after the mid-20th century did they gain the right to work and partial choice. Before that, whether in the 17th, 18th, or early 19th centuries, the Age of Rational Enlightenment seemed to belong only to men, and modernity was even considered gendered, so although "women are spiritually equal to men, it is only that wives must obey their husbands".
Stills from Jane Eyre (2011).
A quote by the British post-structuralist literary critic Catherine Belsey represents the view of a considerable number of thinkers about the Age of The Rational Enlightenment:
"We can now argue that the Enlightenment's investment in truth and reason implied a historical single truth and a single reason that conspired in practice to legitimize women's dependency."
Historian Roy Porter has a different view of this in his book Creating the Modern World. The Age of Rational Enlightenment did not put women in a worse position. This is because people first need to understand what kind of world the Enlightenment inherited, and secondly, they need to understand how the Enlightenment's reconstruction of people, reason, and the mind changed women as "people". So, Roy Porter's view is actually to see the change of women's status as a process, a process of modernity, and in fact, only by understanding this can we better understand how women can get rid of the role of vassal step by step.
The following is an excerpt from the book "Creating the Modern World" authorized by the Commercial Press, with abridged excerpts and titled by the editor. For comments, see the original book.
The original author | [English] Roy Porter
Excerpt from | Luodong
Creating the Modern World, by Roy Potter, translated by Li Yuan et al., Beicheng Liu, The Commercial Press, February 2022.
A world that takes over from tradition
The world inherited and critiqued by the Enlightenment was a male world, patriarchal in reality and in publications — and don't forget that the crucial defense of the Stuart dynasty has in fact been dubbed Patriarchy. The Bible, law, and other authorities together affirm the social norm of male superiority over female inferiority. "By marriage, the husband and wife are legally one person," the famous jurist William Blackstone elaborated, "i.e., during the marriage, the existence or legal presence of the woman is set aside, or at least incorporated into and combined with the husband's legal identity." The Laws Respecting Women (1777) notes that any wife other than the Queen is under the authority of her husband, who is like movable property: "She may not rent, dispose of, sell, discard, or transfer anything without her husband's permission." ”
Stills from Persuasion (2007).
An anonymous poet complained:
In youth,
Strict control by the father
and wary eyes control her will,
The brother's arrogant surveillance
She was made like a captive, unable to move.
The domineering husband followed,
Brows furrowed, frightening;
At the moment he has no lover's appearance:
Her slaves were now her masters.
These authorizations have been echoed by other self-styled expert men. In his 1779 book, The History of Women, William Alexander critically enumerated the judicial exclusions they suffered. "We allow a woman to take over the crown, but by law and custom we prevent her from administering everything else except the affairs within her own family," he said, "as in the case of a public office that can be administered by gifted and capable women between the affairs of the overseeing kingdom and her own kitchen." Historically, women have been relegated to an unenviable role, "in most cases, only inappropriately, or with a little education; and under strict legal restrictions, they have always been in a state of dependence.".
Stills from The Age of Innocence 1993.
However, there is still reason to be optimistic, the Scottish surgeon added. Women were originally "slaves", but society is constantly progressing, and this progress has always been closely related to the advancement of women – in fact, this is the touchstone for the progress of civilization. Contempt is abundant, though not contemptuous or outright discriminatory against women. That fearless, independent, enterprising spirit is so widely praised in boys, and when it occasionally happens to women, instead of being encouraged, it is suppressed. Girls should be taught to abandon their claims early, even if they should know that they will be right.
This statement seems amazing, but it comes from the writing of the female writer Hannah Moore. Other writers—not just men—agree with this existing state of gender as a natural arrangement.
Stills from Northanger Abbey (2007).
George Saville, Marquis of Halifax, arbitrarily stated in Advice to a Daughter (1688): "You must renounce the other for the sake of one basic principle, namely that there is no equality between the sexes, and that in order to make fuller use of the world, men, who will become lawmakers, have more reason given to them." Thus, not only are men superior, but their status advantage stems from the unequal divine distribution of the enlightenment's fundamental trait, reason.
"Women are only grown children," quipped Lord Chesterfield and a fellow nobleman, "and they like to be entertaining and short-talking, occasionally showing eloquence, but when it comes to solid and rational judgment, I have never in my life ever seen a woman capable of this ability, or a woman capable of making reasoning and acting accordingly for twenty-four hours in a row." ”
Others, although avoiding such contempt, subconsciously hold the same view. Hannah Moore, who also wrote Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education (1779), argued that the "real" purpose of women's education was to make them "good daughters, good wives, good housewives, good members of society, and good believers in Christ." Sir William Hamilton warned his niece that, when integrating into high society, "your knowledge of Latin should be kept secret, and a lady's education is often regarded as a great mistake". Similar advice comes from men as well as from women, who firmly believe they have a deep concern for the true interests of women.
Early rebels and their paradoxes
Many expressed anger at discrimination. In 1663, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, boldly proposed: "We are only alive and dead, as if we were born of animals, not of men." ”
Decades later, Mrs Mary Waterlie Montague commented: "In England our gender is treated with such contempt that at this point no other part of the world can compare. We are educated in vulgar ignorance, and all our skills are stifling our natural reason. ”
Stills from The Jane Austen Book Club (2007).
Ironically, given the admiration for British freedom and the derogation of despotism in some smug remarks, she, who had settled in Constantinople as the wife of the British ambassador to Turkey, concluded that Turkish women were much freer than their fellow British women. Mrs. Montague made a group of friends in the bathroom, and the unity shown between them was one that made Montagu envious of the slanderous slanders they had at the London tea party. Despite the practice of polygamy in Turkey, women enjoyed certain freedoms because of the veil, and the kind of "permanent concealment that gave them complete freedom from sexuality without the danger of being discovered". She laughed at herself as if she had become a captive, as if imprisoned in a "machine"—her corset, which was considered by local women to be a cage imposed by her husband.
The resentment of collusion that perpetuates the customary practice of perpetuating women's submission is not unique to Madame Montague.
Stills from Jane Eyre (2011).
Like the later Jane Austen, Judith Drake, author of The Defense of the Female Gender (1696), which by 1750 had been published five times, argued that it was difficult for people to derive a true understanding of women from books because their authors were usually men, and that "their evidence rejection was taken for granted because men boycotted us in partnership." However, referring to the authority of certain "erudite men", she countered that "all men are equal, so there is no difference in souls between the sexes".
Thus, "Men are sorely mistaken for us to think that we lack the reliable intellect they boast so vainly about themselves... Our inner qualities are as noble as theirs, except that the organs on which they depend are usually more perfect." Therefore, both conceptually and in reality, women in the Era of King George were so discriminated against. Although there are no new changes in this regard, this prejudice is exacerbated by the idealization of female virtue and female emotion, which places them in a lofty position and establishes biological "separate fields" through new attempts (discussed later). As James Thomason preached the responsibility of the "British Fair" in his speech, a common male perspective would surely prescribe what was appropriate for a lady:
An orderly family is the most pleasing to men;
With the wisdom of obedience, the skill of humility,
and every gentle, worry-free craft,
to evoke virtue and promote well-being,
Even turn bitterness into pleasure
And relieve all the strain in life:
This is the nobility and ode of women.
There is no need for much interpretation of such regulations, but enlightenment culture is still quite favorable to women in many ways.
Men with a new code of conduct
While the actual text of the law remains old, patriarchy shows uneven but clear signs of overall moderation. Educated people's expectations of love, engagement, and marriage, as well as parents' attitudes toward their children, are undergoing a dramatic shift, which Lawrence Stone calls the rise of "affective individualism," a shift from patriarchal alienation and obedience to greater intimacy and even equality.
Stills from A Room with a View (1985).
Thus, despite stubborn legal inequalities, marriage has become idealized in terms of friendly partnerships, showing a tendency to communicate with each other. "Husbands and wives are always together and share the same social circle," said the Prussian visitor von Achenholz in amazement, "and it is rare to see only one of them and not the other." They do all the trips together. ”
This evolution necessitates new norms of behaviour for men. Characters such as weston squires (from Tom Jones), the debauched nobles Lovelace (from Clarissa), and Tiller (from Thingsas They Are, or the Adventures of Caleb Williams, 1794) abuse male prerogatives and are demonized as unwelcome images of ignorant macho. Bossy fathers and unfair double standards have been blamed. Laetitia Pilkington, an early feminist, commented: "Of all the things in nature, what I am most puzzled about is why men rebuke our sexual lives so harshly for their breach of chastity: isn't it absurd that people who have played with us should in turn condemn us?" "Others have puzzled expressions." It is in the societal interest to be dignified and polite," Bernard de Mandeville said sarcastically, "and this requires that women should spend their time, waste and die, rather than seek self-liberation in ways that violate moral standards." ”
Modernists, who profess to reform masculinity, promote family virtues. Richard Steele's work—The Christian Hero (1701) and the sentimental play The Tender Husband (1705)—led the early movement to improve the relationship between husband and wife; Richardson's last novel, Sir Charles Grandison (1753-1754). The hero sets a new standard for the likable man, while David Hume promotes the fashion of mixed-sex gatherings, where "the sexes can be contacted in a relaxed and social way; the temper and character of men improve rapidly."
A 2010 edition of The Tender Husband, Nabu Press.
This type of socialization, in no way leads to weakness, as is widely feared, but on the contrary gives them an outstanding masculinity: "In a cultured group, men find their authority in a more generous, yet very obvious way, through courtesy, respect, in a word, through gentlemanliness." ”
Thus, with the patriarchal maxim that "marriage is the epitome of monarchy" giving way to the new ideal that the family is a temple of warmth and a medium of socialization, the "man of temperament" won the admiration of the people. While "fat-faced men", "dumb men", and frivolous people are relegated to the abuse of emotions, the discourse of enlightenment—the conquest of grace over roughness—guides men not to be "clumsy" or "to indulge in deviance," and to reconcile "men's freedom" with "good human order." For example, Shaftesbury's ideal model—conceiving a typical example, the "attendant" from baldassare Castiglione of the Renaissance, and Sir Charles Grandison," would have "a humane temperament that obeys the mind of reason and adapts to all natural emotions."
"All of our ladies can read it"
With changing cultural values praising closer family relationships, it can be said that women's public status has also improved. In King George's public life, women played an important role in political activities (whether in neighborhoods or salons), in charitable and patriotic movements, and in leisure culture (whether as patrons or performers).
Despite current feminist assertions that women are being evicted from urban public spaces due to fears of sexual harassment and fears of losing their "reputation," Women in britain enjoy a good name – or notoriety – throughout Europe – only because of their apparent independence in public. "In Great Britain, ladies are as free as gentlemen," John Potter said in 1762, "in our pastimes and public entertainment, there is no offense, and everyone is honest." Of course, he may exaggerate, but historian Joyce Ellis notes that "urban women can move freely without veiling, and in most cases without escort," visiting friends, watching plays, and even going to coffee houses.
The Society for The Debate of Women and Men and Women has been growing in London since the 1770s, and their topics include questions such as those raised at the Westminster Forum on 12 November 1798: "Does the clause of obedience in marriage ceremonies bind women to obey their husbands at all times?" While the Times can conceivably complain that "the ladies involved in the debate are better off if they do needlework," its protests have been to no avail: At least forty or so houses in the city centre have been leased by such associations.
Stills from Northanger Abbey (2007).
In short, the new opportunities offered by print culture have led to women's social participation and, perhaps their increasingly improved status, especially when Aphra Behn, Delarivie re Manley and Eliza Heywood have made their mark on the literary scene, and other women have shone in their intellect. A Latin version of Anne Conway's Cartesian the Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy was published in 1690, while Catherine Trotter Cockburn published a book defending Locke, one of the earliest works of its kind.
Women's education has improved across the board: "Now, all of our ladies can read. Dr. Johnson said in 1778. Of course, he resented female mannerism (notably commented that female priests resembled dogs walking on their hind limbs), and his Lives of the English Poets (1779–1781) did not include women, but this rejection waned as women became more prominent in print culture.
In fact, at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, almost all the best-selling novelists were women: Maria Edgeworth, Elizabeth Hamilton, Amelia Opé, Mary Brenton, Jane, and Anne Maria Potter, as well as Sydney Owenson— only Sir Walter Scott could match in terms of sales. Joanna Baillie was one of the leading playwrights of the time, and women rose to prominence in poetry—between 1760 and 1830, at least 339 female poets published in their own names, as well as 82 anonymous authors who had been discovered. In Her Thoughts on the Condition of Women (1799), Mary Robinson listed more than two dozen prominent female literary critics, essayists, historians, biographers, translators, and classical writers who wrote "the best novels since Smollett, Richardson, and Fielding."
The legacy of "house-keepers" that has not disappeared
Self-styled biomedical experts claim that social interests require that women be seriously engaged in the role of motherhood that nature has already designed for them. They must not be just as frivolous as butterflies, but they do not have to imitate men; they must follow nature and be "themselves". Jean-Jacques Rousseau elaborated the theory in an extreme way, praising real women as the wholehearted embodiment of emotions—or, as Marie Wollstonecraft's impressive summary puts it, a "brainless" domestic slave. Although the fully fledged Rousseau ideas did not win widespread agreement in Britain, some of them were supported by British writers—both men and women.
Wollstonecraft was an ardent admirer of Rousseau's pedagogical work E mile (1762), and was one of rousseau's many endorsers of Rousseau's idea that the unique gift of women lies in the creation of children. They can be good mothers and good educators, but only by cultivating their rational faculties, contrary to Rousseau's absurd claims, fortunately they already have them. If a man must "fulfill the duties of a citizen or be despised," his wife must also concentrate on "helping the neighborhood by running the house and helping the children."
Stills from A Room with a View (1985).
Wollstonecraft, determined to promote education and morality so that future generations can become good daughters, wives and mothers, saw the need for them to "live in seclusion and grope in the dark" as a form of tyranny. The ideal marriage should not be based on sexual attraction or romantic passion, but on mutual respect, affection, and inclusion.
However, some men who considered themselves Paladins of enlightenment accepted Rousseau's (announced in Emile's sister article Sophie [1762]) pet program, in which women were trained to assume their special role as protectors of human women. Thomas Day of the Moon Society, an ardent admirer of Rousseau and his women's view that they should be meek and obedient, hoped to put theory into practice by transforming a doll into a good wife who was not fashionable and a godson of a family.
Later, in the moralistic novel Sandford and Merton (1783), Day went on to portray a Rousseau-esque perfect woman who got up at night to devote herself to housework and completely rejected the fashion vices that—enlightened feminists believed—made women despised and spoiled for their natural mission.
Although even Dai's friends saw him as a Don Quixote utopian, the idea that nature gave women a sacred duty—to exploit their biological natural endowments as guardians of morality—appealed to many.
Change happens
Enlightenment thinkers insisted that women were born with the same rational soul as men; therefore, their minds should be trained. But, as Aster's example demonstrates, there are very few cries of courage for their benefit— greater social, economic, or political freedom— whether through women or men.
Similarly, despite — or perhaps because of this — there is a general condemnation of double standards, claims for what came to be called sexual liberation are still rare at this time. Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) is a rare and straightforward denial of the status quo, and it was an important work of the revolutionary era.
The Feminist Defense protests the flaws and misleading practices in women's education. The fact that women were taught to please men as the real purpose of their lives infuriated Wollstonecraft, who denounced the encouragement of "lifeless passivity and stupid silent obedience." Women are "kept ignorant in the name of the deceptive name of innocence," and men seek out in them "meekness, good temper, and toughness—virtues incompatible with any intellectual soundness." She said angrily, "O benevolent educator! What are we born for? It may be said that in order to remain innocent; they mean a state of childhood. ”
While presenting herself as a "philosopher" and "moralist," Wollstonecraft added political overtones to her resistance to the subordination of women. "Until society is constructed in very different ways," she cautions, "I fear that parents will still insist on obedience because they will be obeyed." So what's the answer? A "Revolution in Women's Social Behavior." However, how it will happen and exactly what the consequences will be is difficult to determine.
Stills from Howards End (1992).
Wollstonecraft encouraged women to develop their talents, but she had no plans for women's suffrage or political activity. Nor are there male reformers arguing on their behalf. The democrat Major Cartwright refuted the idea that women were sufficeable, and the Benthamian James Mill, in his Treatise on Government (1824), rejected women and proposed the cliché of virtual representation (their interests were "contained in the interests of their fathers or husbands"). But enlightened women who talk about politics take great risks and are widely criticized.
Not content to deny equality between the sexes, John Bennett warned in Strictures on Female Education (1787) of the dangers of women being "over-educated", for "the world will be stripped of its most beautiful ornaments... And the man will lose the tender mind that he relies on after hard work."
In addition, a typical fact is "women's mutual wariness". Margaret Cavendish, saddled with the nickname "Mad Madge," was attacked by other women for her unusual views, much like Aphra Bain was rebuked for her daring to break the box. "Women's wisdom often leads to negative consequences," said The passionate Laetitia Pilkington, Mrs. Mary Waterri Montague reflects sharply: "I regret that women of average intelligence inevitably lose their purity. Because of the overly politicized style of her work, Catherine McCaulley was also ostracized by talented women — and because she married a man 36 years younger than her: Elizabeth Montague and Hannah Moore both refused to read her work. Moore also denounced "female politicians" like Mary Wollstonecraft, as did Mrs Chapone, for whom Women's Rights was undermined by "many absurdities, indecentities, and despicable vulgarity."
"The modern individual is first and foremost a woman"
It has been repeatedly reiterated that there is a need to cultivate the mind to make women suitable to become responsible adults who are dedicated to society and the family, and to give them a certain degree of independence and a certain rational control over their lives as moral subjects. This is important for circles of talented women, such as Elizabeth Carter, the translator of Epicteide, and Mrs. Elizabeth Montague, who praised Mrs. Montague for "showing great intelligence in conversation that I have never seen in anyone else." Another female scholar, Mrs. Shappoon, demanded that women's minds be treated the same as men's in her best-selling work Letters on the Improvement of the Mind (1773), which had been reprinted at least 16 times.
Stills from 20th Century Women 2016.
The most important thing, therefore, is not to demand the reorganization of gender relations within society, but to demand psychological and spiritual equality and the acceptance of the right to education in order to put an end to "long-standing childish stupidity". Women must think for themselves: this was often the case in the English Enlightenment, and the envisaged solution lay in emancipating the mind.
The Age of Reason has been described as a women's disaster by postmodern feminists such as Catherine Belsey: "We can now argue that the Enlightenment's investment in truth and reason implied a historical single truth and a single reason that in practice conspired to legitimize women's dependency." Other feminists disputed, and some even argued that women were not disadvantaged by the Enlightenment, but rather that they were the vanguard of the Enlightenment: women played an important role in the birth of the modern age under the cloak of consumers, sowers and communicators of emotions. Critic Nancy Armstrong declared: "The modern individual is first and foremost a woman. ”
This article is an excerpt from the book "Creating the Modern World" with permission from the publisher, with abridged excerpts titled by the editor.
Originally written by [English] Roy Potter
Excerpt from | Luodong
The introduction part of the proofreading | Liu Baoqing