Response 1: Hidden Political Facts Behind The Text (Draft 2)

It would be very difficult for me to determine whether the critical study and literary text can serve to support each other or even both would be contradictory because as in the previous draft response Critical study not only can be used to support the literary text, it can also be used also as a tool to refute a statement contained in a literary text depends on who is doing that.

If he has an opinion that is in line with that expressed by the owner of the text or if that person is a "fan" of the owner of the text, then the results of the critical text of the study will reach an agreement on the issue that is discussed as a topic of discussion. But, if that was otherwise, then the results of a critical study of the text will have a disagreement and instead of reaching an agreement on the issue being discussed, it will only add to the list of questions for the topic being discussed.

One example is the patriarchal representation submitted by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar in essays entitled “The madwoman in the attic”, they mostly discuss the difference of power between men and women through solving some of the figures that used as the symbol of women in several works such as Aurora in the character of Elizabeth Barret Browning's "Aurora Leigh" who looks at her mother as "a Ghost, fiends, and angel, fairy, sprite, and witch”.

Moreover, in the same essay, Gilbert and Gubar also saw the development of a symbol such as “Virgin Mary” in women during the middle ages and the “angel in the house” for women in the Nineteenth Century.

Interestingly, although women often symbolized by a figure who has angelic qualities and as if they play an important role, but in fact quite the contrary, women are not even allowed to have a role that can stand alone.

As it happens with the notables Honoria in Patmore's "The angel in the house"

“No happier post than this I ask,

To live her laureate all my life.

On wings of love uplifted free,

And by her gentleness made great,

I’ll teach how noble man should be

To match with such a lovely mate.”

(In “Madwoman in the Attic, p. 815)

which implies that her virtue makes her man 'great'.

An anxiety which then appears and the big question in this essay is if the woman is symbolized as a sacred figure who has angelic nature, then why the nature of existing angelic figures among women in the paper written by a male author thus turning instead suppress and opposing the existence of the female character itself?

Even the angelic properties commonly inserted by the author as a soul for the female character in his work, if you take more precisely those qualities were even transformed into a monstrous female figure because it's often the nature of the angelic will end up as a figure who is depressed because of its nature it should be used for serving, satisfying, and fulfilling cravings/desires of male character.

Meanwhile, if the heroine was created to finally meet all the desires/wishes of male character, would not that was the angelic nature of their lives will be transformed into a monstrous figure?

This is thought to be fictional political supporters of patriarchy as described in Simone's Beauvoir's thesis that:

“Woman has been made to represent all of man’s ambivalent feelings about his inability to control his own physical existence, his own birth and death. As the Other, woman comes to represent the contingency of life, life that is made to be destroyed.” (in “Madwoman in the Attic” p.822-823)

Besides, Beauvoir also argues that

“It is the horror of his own carnal contingence,…which [man] projects upon [woman]” 

(in “Madwoman in the Attic” p.823)

Gilbert and Gubar also concluded that the sentimental fiction of the woman could be politically influenced by patriarchy as 'Lilith' in the Biblical story that was originally thought that men and women have equal roles, he then lied to Adam. From there, Lilith is the first wife of Adam chose patriarchal marriage as punishment for his actions.

Gilbert Gubar interpret figure Lilith as a reflection of how difficult for a woman to have a role for herself,

“cursed both because she is a character who “got away” and because she dared to usurp the essentially literary authority implied by the act of naming, Lilith is locked into vengeance (child killing)which can only bring her more suffering (the killing of her own children).” (in “Madwoman in the Attic” p.823)

Just as the same with female authorship authority problems in real life women writers.

In addition, as quoted from Gilbert Gubar's essay, Anne Finch-a literary woman- capture the implicit message of the story of Lilith is that:

“A life of feminine submission, of “contemplative purity,” is a life of silence, a life that has no pen  and no story, while a life of female rebellion, of “significant action,” is a life that must be silenced, a life whose monstrous pen tells a terrible story.” (in “Madwoman in the Attic” p.824).

In addition, an example of a very unique representation can also be seen on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's "Three women's Texts" that attempted to put forward the argument that the critical analyses in psychoanalytical, economical, and literary sphere intersect through projection.

Spivak states that “The role of literature in the production of cultural representation should not ignored' (in “Three Women’s Texts” p.838), especially in the 19th century because it was arguably the golden age of English literature. The success of English literature in this century is inseparable from the success of the imperial government that works well in this century has not completely escape the influence of imperialism. Also the literary works produced in the 19th century were finally able to give birth to 'the third world' ('Worlding' the 'Third World').

Somewhat different from Gilbert Gubar that discusses feminism in general, Spivak discusses feminist individualism started from Jane Eyre's unique imagination (in "Three women's Texts" p. 840) is shown when she turned her home with the uncommon architectural design— because the design she created is not recommended in any architectural book. Jane's unique imagination can be categorized as a psychological issue, while the displacement of the counter-class family became a family-in-law's (in "Three women's Texts" p. 841) can be categorized as an economic issue because such removals usually have something to do with material/financial needs. Then, after a psychological and economic problems contained in the earlier story, Jane Eyre as revived in Jean Rhys's "Wide Sargasso Sea" as Bertha Mason.

But I also found similarities between Gilbert Gubar with Spivak that when Christophine figure-a black native-Wide Sargasso Sea in the novel who have a desire to be able to have a character by rebelling and saying

“No chain gang, no tread machine, no dark jail either. This is free country and I am  free woman.”

(in “Wide Sargasso Sea”, p.131)

to the guy who tease her. But, similar to what happened to Lilith, due to her tangentially to this narrative,

“No perspective critical of imperialism can turn the Other into a self, because the project of imperialism has always already historically refracted what might have been the absolutely Other into  domesticated Other that consolidates the imperialist self.” (in “Three Women’s Texts” 846)

Different from both the essay discussed earlier, to prove that in a work of literature, there can be a political imperialism representation United Kingdom, Edward Said first gives an overview of the history of European colonialism. Said’s way in the opening of this essay is quite confusing because in the beginning, instead of looking like someone who would convey literary criticism, Said it looks like a war veteran who wants to pass on the story of his experience in the colonial era to the reader. But there is an important point in the preamble to explain the direction of this essay:

 

“Said drew on the work of structuralist historian Michael Focault in his examination of how Western academic described non-Western countries that were in the process of being colonized by Western Europe” (in “Jane Austen and Empire” p.1112)

Said considered that the works of Wordsworth, Austen, and Coleridge before 1857 which eventually led to the establishment of British government policy in India is a spatial impact (in terms of only non-Western countries only) on an error in the interpretation of literary works. 

By heeding Raymond William's argument on "The Country and the City" which is related to

 "the interplay between rural and urban places in England" (in "Jane Austen and the Empire" p. 1113)

and

“From at last the mid-nineteenth century, and with important instances earlier, there was this larger context [the relationship between England and the colonies, whose effects on the English Imagination “have gone deeper than can easily be traced”] within which every idea and every image was consciously and unconsciously affected.” (in “Jane Austen and Empire” p.1114)

Said reveal the relationship between the text and the development of British imperialism through the published date and year and the points to be emphasized by the author.

 

To express his own opinion about the ideological and moral Affirmation, Said suggests that there is a relationship between literary works by British Imperialism in “Mansfield Park” (1814) by Jane Austen is to declare:

“To earn the right to Mansfield Park you must first leave home as a kind of indentured servant or, to put the case in  extreme terms, as a kind of transported commodity…but then you have the promise of future wealth.”(in “Jane Austen and Empire” p.1118)

I got to thinking that 'Mansfield Park' mentioned here is another manifestation of the 'plantation' which also has a characteristic more or less the same as it was; most people are used as native black slaves and /or treated as a commodity by the parties of other countries that have more power than them, the native.

Regardless of the outcome and somehow, represent a text can be classified as a political act because:

• If we just see or hear a text but do not know the author of the text properly, I think it would be very difficult to be 100% right in represents the text.

• Represents a text can also be referred to as a "political act" because although it is equipped with various reference sources, back again on the statement that the language has properties which arbitrary; a text can be interpreted in a variety of by everyone without exception. However, the results will depend on the privilege, experience, knowledge, as well as those who represent the views of representing topic and/or alignments represent the people against the author of the text to be represented.

• In this case it seems like no one can guarantee that the results of the activities related to representation of a work — in this case the writings are objective.

• Each assessment of a work will remain valid despite of the many people who try to represent a masterpiece, some people could have been pro-cons of a text while the rest of the work is the same as the results will depend on the privilege, experience, knowledge, as well as those who represent the views of the represented topic and/or alignments represent the people against the author of the text which have to be represented.

Work Cited:

Gilbert, Sandra and Gubar, Susan. 1979. “The Madwoman in the Attic” in Literary Theory: An Anthology ed. Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Michael (2004, 2^nd edition; pg. 812-825). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing.

Said, Edward. “Jane Austen and Empire” in Literary Theory: An Anthology ed. Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Michael (2004, 2^nd edition; pg. 1112-1125). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. 1986. “Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism” in Literary Theory: An Anthology ed. Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Michael (2004, 2^nd edition; pg. 838-853). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing.