A "Protestant monastery" (148), now there's a concept! Here's a good example of a great idea couched in bad linguistics. While Mary Astell's "elevator pitch" fell flat with Anglicized Britain, it begs the question why would young women need to be "cloistered" to be educated? The pedagogy of seventeenth century England turned away from a more liberal view of the Renaissance in which "upper-class women" received "an academic education" (147). Therefore, they were little more than ornamentation for male society. Reduced to idle ways and vanity, Astell demanded that these young women cultivate the mind which was a Godly gift. After all, Astell argued, this was a woman's Christain duty to use what nature endowed: "a musical tone, persuasive air and winning address" (152). Astell viewed the virtuous woman speaking well as a positive opportunity to put their truth into daily practice as good Christian women. This compelling argument, based on Christian doctrine, was a brilliant hedge against the social norms of her day.
Yet, Hugh Blair's argument for taste as a "vital force" made its mark on the pedagogical legacy that influences our practices or rejection of practices in today's approach to composition; Mary Astell's legacy remains relatively unknown. Blair's "preoccupation with rules and with form" (25) fall more in line with the thinking of Astell as she attempted to navigate young women back into the mainstream of rhetorical discourse. Blair's view that "rhetoric is a public endeavor"(26) reflected his society in which there was a "more widespread access to literacy than ever before" (27). However, Blair was accused of narrowing "the scope of rhetoric for decades"... because "his emphasis on taste, style, and textual interpretation illustrate his focus on teaching students the processes through which discourse is received as well as produced" (25).
Through her approach to creative non-fiction, Wendy Bishop would see the value of Blair's theory. The final product was not separated from the process. Bishop is given credit for "blending composition studies and creative writing"(24). With two masters degrees and a PhD, Mary Astell would certainly acknowledge Wendy Bishop as one of the "learned ladies" (147).
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I would argue that Astell, in her own way, was working to ensure rhetoric was a "public endeavor." Her public was narrowed to upper class women, which is why her ideas weren't more widely known. Especially because upper class men were already doing what she suggested: educating themselves, or seeking education, on rhetoric. Her ideas were revolutionary because of her audience. Her ideas did endure, they just did so without her name attached, unfortunately. Thanks to feminism's advancements, we hope Wendy Bishop won't have that problem.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Wendy Bishop died in 2003, her work is still "out there." Lisa Gerrard's article,"Feminist Research in Computers and Composition" really hit home in demonstrating how gender bias creeps into "modern" technology. I never thought about how "Computers have long been perceived as male machines, and computer culture as an exclusive boys club" (186). What an enlightening article.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading this great book called "Reclaiming Rhetorica." The book includes a chapter on Mary Astell, as well as many other women who have contributed to the realm of rhetoric. In the book's Foreword by James Murphy, he writes, "Orphaned, almost penniless, virtually homeless, subject to religious bias, deprived of education after the age of thirteen, Mary nevertheless went on to become a popular author." Imagine that! She truly is amazing.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn: I thought you would be interested in this local writing group that I just heard about . . . They are mostly interested in fiction, so I thought of you. Here is the web address for it: http://confluenceliteraryguild.org/
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