Judith Sargent Murray was one of the first proponents for the equality of men and women in American history. Through her essays, plays and poetry she advocated for women’s rights at a time when deeply entrenched cultural beliefs restricted women to insignificant societal roles. Although she was preceded by other female poets, Murray was the first to boldly venture outside the lines of “domestic poets,” such as Anne Bradstreet.
Murray’s groundbreaking success is a product of her privileged background. As with other areas, success results from a quality education. Murray’s parents were also hardworking, independent individuals, who allowed the local clergyman to tutor their daughter. Murray’s notions of female equality were also compatible with the Universalist church, to which her family belonged. These background factors are important considerations when evaluating Murray’s success.
True to her independent and unique style, Murray chose to present her arguments in two literary styles. In my opinion, Murray’s argument of equality in the form of poetry is more creatively intellectual and more efficiently proves her point. She begins her poem “On the Equality of the Sexes” by portraying the contemporary standards of inequality between the sexes. True to classical forms of argumentation this acknowledges the counter argument. Murray notes that “some people” (aka women) are thought to not possess the will or wish to improve, because they are not “lovers of knowledge” and shun mental pleasures. Society dictates women to be mere figurines, devoted only to pleasure. “Stupidly dull – they move progressing on – they eat, and drink, and all their work is done” (line 20).
Murray then describes “others” (aka men) as industrious and purposeful. However, she later elaborates that men operate under a disguise by automatically and genetically inheriting a “greatness of mind.”
After establishing the contemporary cultural beliefs about equality, Murray boldly argues for the legitimacy of the independent female mind. She centers her argument on equality being a natural and self-evident right. Women at the time, such as Murray, could fall back on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as an inarguable foundation for equality. This natural argument is seen in lines 20 through 25, which is what I perceive to be the most eloquent stanza in the poem. “Tracing the hidden springs whence knowledge flows, which nature all in beauteous order shows.” Therefore, knowledge and intelligence flows straight from nature, and is therefore a natural gift or right for all.
Murray also points out the reason for apparent female inferiority. Men “sink so low” as to rob them of any chances to improve intellectually. Without an education, women do not have the opportunity to showcase their intellectual powers of imagination, reason, memory and judgment.
In addition to her eloquent poetry, Murray also elaborates her argument in the form of prose. While her poetry is creative and clever, her prose is bold, confrontational and direct. She addresses the heart of the problem of inequality between the sexes, when she asks, “Are we deficient in reason? We can only reason from what we know, and if an opportunity of acquiring knowledge hath been denied us, the inferiority of our sex cannot fairly be deduced from thence” (p. 727).
Through both her prose and poetry, Judith Sargent Murray stood as a living testament to the validity of her own arguments. Women can succeed and contribute to society as professional intellectuals. While equality of the sexes is a natural and self-evident argument, it is still a social justice issue that has not been solved in the 21st century.
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3 comments:
I believe that Anna Bradstreet also advocated for women’s equality. The fact that she wrote poetry in a Puritan culture says a lot about women’s equality. The problem with her is that we immediately associate her with being Puritan and this has a negative connotation, but without a doubt, Judith Sargent Murray was very vocal and bold in advocating for women’s rights and equality. I like to think of her as an early American feminist. I have deep admiration for her, and I think that many clergy men were scandalized by her arguments. I think that her literary work is still relevant today.
I feel the different styles Murray uses (poetry and prose) each had their own appeal and success in making her point. There is a certain time and place where each would have been useful and more appropriate than the other. Indeed, I think that is one of the strengths of Murray's work, that she could adapt to best suit her circumstances.
In my blog I related the work of Judith Sargent Murray to the feminist writings of Mary Wollstonecraft. I found it interesting that both women are adamently fighting for their rights. In regards to Murray's dual style, possibly her intention is to prove she is an educated woman who can write both poetry and an argumentative piece? Her point seems to be that women need not remain in the house, they can contribute to society as well.
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