revisiting swift and misogyny

quick note that i thought i'd post: i asked angela my spouse what she thinks about swift and the issue of woman-hating, and she said, to his favor, that he is very interested in the body and all it's "inappropriate" functions. The body having typically been associated with femininity, Swift is doing one of two good things: dissociating intellectualized masculinity from body-hating, or bringing (perceived) femininity to the fore. not that this settles the issue, but i thought that was an interesting way to look at it.

"However, I could not reflect without some Amazement, and much Sorrow, that the Rudiments of Lewdness, Coquetry, Censure, and Scandal, should have Place by instinct in Womankind."  p. 240, end of Book IV, Chapter VII.

Okay, I'm bringin' it up.  Gulliver's take on women.  Why is he so keen to prove that women are naturally, instinctually ridiculous and inferior?  He goes to such lengths to reflect on humankind but puts particular energy towards bashing women.  Who are the females who meet with his approval, if any?  Why?  What is his perspective on women?  What is his perspective on women versus men?  Is Gulliver's reflection on women even important?

Swift Imagery

"The flying or floating Island is exactly circular; its Diameter 7837 Yards, or about four Miles and an Half, and consequently contains ten Thousand Acres.... Besides, as it is in the Power of the Monarch to raise the Island about the Region of Clouds and Vapours" (Part III, Ch 3, p161)

"That this Island cannot move beyond the Extent of the Dominions below; nor can it rise above the Height of four Miles" (163).

One part of Swift's style I find fascinating is his command over the world of images. When I am reading, there are certain chapters in this book where an image jumps out at me. Besides being impressive, these images often seemed packed full of metaphorical or satirical significance, though they often don't hold completely if I look too close. That is, certain images are briefly suggestive in one or more ways when they are coupled with some more of the text's content. What is Swift's intention with such imagery? Sometimes I perceive the imagery is louder than his words of satire.

For example, take the floating island of Laputa. Its a sheer joy to imagine such a huge floating disc, or even, as I sometimes pictured it, a huge floating sphere. Just imagine its moving up and down at will, its detachment from the land, its central loadstone cared for by Astronomers, its adamantine bottom, etc. Perhaps this floating island might suggest a huge, satiric, floating mind. It is detached from the "body" of the land, but his has to deal with rebellions, petitions, violent factions, etc of that "body" (see the last few paragraphs of Part III, Ch 3). The "mind" is often afraid to destory part of the "body," for the "health" of the "mind" depends on the "body" (the ship receives city victuals (ch2, p157) and can be cracked by the landscape (Ch3, 165).

Such an interpretation (if it contains any truth) would add to the satiric depiction of those people, who's meditations often disconnect them from reality, so much so that "in the common Actions and Behaviour of Life, I have not seen a more clumsy, awkward, and unhandy People" (Ch2, 158). One might take it further to be a shot at philosophic scientists such as Descartes, the flying island/land island being a possible mockery of his mind/matter system, or defeat of it. Such an interpretation would be supported by instances such as the encounter with the tailor (156), who makes errs in a complicated calculation about making his clothes. Another possibility is that Swift is chiding ivory tower people who never come down to reality, a theme that was present at other parts of the book (low humour, discussion of the giant kind's education (see part II, Ch 7, p133)).

My point is that grand images such as the flying island have all kinds of potential for reading. I suspect that part of the fun of reading Swift is trying to bridge the distance between the Author and all of the fronts of his satire, especially his choice of imagery. Do you find that the set of possibilities narrows down with reading, that Swift meant for multiple interpretations, that I am overreading or underreading the text, or something else?

Political Connection?

"The flying or floating island is exactly circular; its diameter 7837 yards, or about four miles and half, and consequently contains ten thousand acres. It is three hundred yards thick. The bottom, or under surface, which appears to those who view it from below is one even regular plate of adamant shooting up to the height of about to hundred yards".... (Page 161)

"If any town should engage in Rebellion or mutiny, fall into violent factions, or refuse to pay the usual tribute; the king hath two methods of reducing them to obedience. The first and the mildest course is by keeping the island hovering over such a town, and the lands about it; whereby he can deprive them of the benefit of the sun and the Rain, and consequently afflict the inhabitants with dearth and diseases."...(Page 164).

The first passage almost unnecessarily goes into detail about the island. It seems as though the passage is almost comical with how much is said, why would Gulliver know this much about the island? And if he does, what are the other motives behind it. It seems as though Swift might be poking fun at something, perhaps his opinion of the ridiculousness of the British monarchy?

Regarding the second passage, the power that the King has over his people is tyrannical. If anyone even goes against the wishes of the King, they will be punished. A big brother situation develops where it seems the King is watching every move, and with every move repercussions are given. What is this saying about  British power at that time? Is Swift taking note about the British power over other countries around the world, perhaps India or Ireland? 

Chief Disgust

"I was chiefly disgusted with modern History. For having strictly examined all the Persons of greatest Name in the Courts of Princes for an Hundred Years past, I found how the World had been misled by prostitute Writers, to ascribe the greatest Exploits in War to Cowards, the wisest Counsel to Fools, Sincerity to Flatterers, Roman Virtue to Betrayers of their Country, Piety to Atheists, Chastity to Sodomites, Truth to Informers." (And the rest of the paragraph, but you get the idea...) Part III Chapter 8 Paragraph 5 [p187 in Fox]

"As every Person called up made exactly the same Appearance he had done in the World, it gave me melancholy Reflections to observe how much the Race of human Kind was degenerate among us, within these Hundred Years past." Part III Chapter 8 Penultimate Paragraph [190 in Fox, paragraph before Peter's quote]

I was very interested when I read what I consider Gulliver's most concrete shift towards the hatred for people, or Yahoos, he displayed in Part IV. My question is, is this a shift at all? By that I mean, was Gulliver's hatred for humanity harbored all along, explaining his incessant traveling? Did the visit with the ghosts simply draw those feelings out? Or were they only there in part or even not there at all before these meetings? I also wondered to what extent were these feelings shared by Swift, and whether we are supposed to agree or if we are merely being presented with one view of humanity?

Also, what is up with all the darn capitalization and italicization?

Gulliver the Patriot

"I descended so low as to desire that some English Yeomen of the old Stamp might be summoned to appear"
- p188, end of part III chapter 8

After all the criticism he's thrown around, is Gulliver revealing his true patriotic stripes here? That is, perhaps he is not merely saying that England is worse than all of the other places in the world, but rather, that it is not living up to its mythology. (A comparable use of rhetoric in the USA might, in the face of domestic injustice, speak of the "real America" that the early settlers "fought and died for" and so on).

If so, this is perhaps the second instance, after Socrates, of a direct relationship between patriotism and criticism.