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.

Gulliver's Travels Parts I and II

Although we usually call Reward and Punishment, the two Hinges upon which all Government turns; yet I could never observe this Maxim to be put in Practice by any Nation, except that of Lilliput...And these People thought it a prodigious Defect of Policy among us, when I told them that our Laws were enforced only by Penalties, without any Mention of Reward.  It is upon this account that the Image of Justice, in their Courts of Judicature, is formed with six Eyes, two before, as many behind, and on each Side one, to signify Circumspection; with a Bag of Gold open in her right Hand, and a Sword sheathed in her left, to shew she is more disposed to reward than to punish.  (Part I, towards the beginning of Chapter VI)

In addition to finding this the most humorous and enjoyable text we have read thus far, I was especially interested in Gulliver's descriptions of the Lilliputian system of government.  The above paragraph presents an image of Justice that I have never seen before.  Our judicial system is represented by a scale and commonly associated with the phrase "checks and balances."  There is certainly no room for reward for those who adhere to laws.  Is this, as the Lilliputians say, a "Defect of Policy among us?"  Or is our system, that which focuses on Punishment more than Reward, a more practical and effective one?

I want to bring up one other topic that I found central to the author's discoveries while traveling:

Undoubtedly Philosophers are in the Right when they tell us, that nothing is great or little otherwise than by Comparison...  (Part II, middle of Chapter I)

I really enjoyed the discussion that followed regarding "the relativity of our judgment of size" (footnote pg. 94).  Gulliver's perception of himself is altered after his stay with both the Lilliputians and the Brobdingnagians.  To the former, he is referred to as "Man-Mountain," whereas the latter treat him as humans treat "any little hateful Animal which we have a Mind to destroy" (pg. 95).  This really put things in perspective for me, as I think it did for Gulliver as well.  I don't really have a question, so I'll leave you with the words that kept me pondering: "Who knows but that even this prodigious Race of Mortals might be equally overmatched in some distant Part of the World, whereof we have yet no Discovery?" (pg. 95)

Swift's Purpose: More, Herodotus, and Mirrors

For, indeed, while I was in that Prince's country [Brobdingang], I could never endure to look in a glass after mine Eyes had becme accustomed to such prodigious Objects; because the Comparison gave me so despicable a Conceit of my self.

--Part II, ChapterVII, 5th paragraph from the end

I find the question of Swift's purpose with this work to be a really interesting one.

• First, although he provides some mention of the structure of the socities he visits (especially cf. Ch. VI, re: education of the Lilliputans), but in the third paragraph of I.IV, he says he will reserve details of Lilliputan society for a "greater Work," stating that the "chief Design at present being only to relate such Events... during [his] Residence" there. This is in concord with his response to the Captain's suggestion that he write on his journeys at the end of II.VII: that he (Swift) could do little more than to write of "common Events." To what extent can we look at his descriptions of Lilliputan and Brobdingnagian society in the same terms as we looked at other utopias, such as More's or Plato's?


• Swift also seems interested in subtly appraising his home country.
  

  I cannot but conclude the Bulk of your Natives, to be the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth.

  --Part II, Chapter VI, very end

  
  This further reminds me of More, as they share criticisms such as that of precedent law. But Swift's criticism of England is more prevalent, from the jokes about the ladies' askance way of writing to the big-endian reference to party differences and so on. Does Swift's critique of England drive this work as a primary motivating force?
  


• With regard to the first quote of this post, I think that a primary function of this work is similar to that of Herodotus, in the sense that the stories from his travels suggest humility with respect to one's own country. In Lilliput the party difficulties seemed petty and their mighty fleets were playthings; in Brobdingnag his own country was made to seem as diminutive. Gulliver sees humanity from afar and from close up, and neither view is particularly stellar. Would it be accurate to propose that this work's purpose is to encourage the reader to look on his or her own society with a new lens?

P.S. I forgot Milton in the poll! It's okay, he wouldn't have won anyway.

Names

Lilliputians, Brobdingnagians, Laputans, Yahoos, and Houyhnhnms

While reading the introductory "A Letter from Capt. Gulliver, to His Cousin Sympson," One immediately stumbles upon Swift's odd names for the different races in his novel. He had to develop new words for the people and places on Gulliver's fictional journey (in a literal sense), but why contrive such obscure and difficult-to-say names?

Gulliver is very agitated in this letter, accusing the publisher of omitting from and adding to his work beyond what he wanted. He also defends himself against the "Sea-Yahoos," claiming their attack against his improper "Sea-Language" is unjust since language is inconstant. He states that neither him nor a Yahoo he was talking to could comprehend each's ideas since language changes with the people's desire to make it "new-fangled" (p. 30). Gulliver's description of miscomprehension reminds me of Hobbes' description of absurdity: the act of conversing with conflicting definitions of words. Based off of this and Gulliver's anger towards being misinterpreted, did Swift choose such absurd words as "Houyhnhnms" to avoid absurdity? Unless I'm missing some allusions, they don't seem to resemble any word in the English language. Or did Swift use them mainly for a laugh?

Swift and South Park

I do in the next Place complain of my own great Want of Judgement, in being prevailed upon by the Intreaties and false Reasonings of you and some others, very much against mine own Opinion, to suffer my Travels to be published. P. 29, Letter from Gulliver to Sympson

I carefully preserved them [the huge wasp stingers] all, and having since shewn them with some other Curiosities in several Parts of Europe; upon my Return to England I gave three of them to Gresham College, and kept the fourth for my self. p. 113

That nothing could now pass which was not extraordinary; wherein I doubted, some Authors less consulted Truth than their own Vanity or Interest, or the Diversion of ignorant Readers. P. 145

I think it's safe to say this is the funnest read of the semester so far - whether it's the meta-commentary Swift/Gulliver keeps giving, the ludicrousness of Gulliver being entangled in a sex scandal in Lilliputia, or the vulgarity of him pissing (I think that's the appropriate term here) out a fire in an imperial palace. I would like to talk about the reader-reaction that Swift is trying to impose throughout the book - he's constantly telling us to check the facts, as well as giving us regularly reminding us of the narrator's veracity. How does Swift present his message differently than South Park, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report? 

 While South Park may seem like a vulgar step down for a "Great Books" Seminar, I have to imagine this book was considered pretty raunchy for its time. Both were very popular, and both offer biting critiques of the modern life. South Park does not pretend to present solutions for modern problems, but does Swift? He oh so sarcastically decries the Brobdingnag laws for being too naive, while the narrator doesn't come out and say "We should accept the Liliputian laws." Does Swift think that the foreign laws could actually be implemented in Britain, or are "the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth (132)" an incurable lot?

Gulliver's Travels, Parts I and II

"I was curious to know how this prince, to whose dominions there is no access from any other country, came to think of armies, or to teach his people the practice of military discipline. But I was soon informed, both by conversation, and reading their histories. For in the course of many ages they have been troubled with the same disease to which the whole race of mankind is subject; the nobility often contending for power, the people for liberty, and the King for absolute dominion. "

(last paragraph of Chapter VII, Part II)

It seems clear from this passage and from Swift's description of both the Lillipution and Brobdingnagian (?) cultures that Swift believes some problems are universal to mankind. But would he consider all problems universal? Does he allow for any significant difference between cultures, or is it all relative? Our narrator is pretty loyal to England, but I wonder if Swift actually agrees. Is any form of government truly better than another? And is there no hope of escape from this cycle of war? Is it inevitable that every government will become corrupt? This reminds me a lot of Plato's Republic and his devolution from timocracy to tyranny.