Swift Had a Heart!
Being human is hard work. Being human and an object of scrutiny under the critical public eye is even harder work. So it was with Jonathan Swift, who faced more than his fair share of numerous accusations throughout his career as an author in 18th Century England/Ireland. Known for his clever wit which made him perhaps the greatest satirist of all time, he also quickly gained the reputation of being (among other things) obscene, pessimistic, misogynistic, misanthropic, and just plain mad. Of all these accusations, however, possibly the most untrue but frequently discussed charge against Swift is misogyny. Katharine M. Rogers in her article ““My Female Friends”: The Misogyny of Jonathan Swift,” goes so far as to claim that he “was considered by his contemporaries, as by readers today, the leading misogynist of his time” (366). Nevertheless, as evident as Swift’s hatred for women may seem to be, a certain series of poems addressed to Esther Johnson on her birthday every year, along with a compilation of letters to this same woman, known as Journal to Stella, reveal a glimpse of emotion and tenderness that Swift often concealed with layers of sarcasm and crudeness in his other literary works.
It is no surprise that one would come away from most of Swift’s works absolutely disgusted with his degrading perception of women. However, by taking a look at his closest personal relationship, it becomes obvious that Swift was in no way misogynistic; rather he wrote the way he did out of an actual concern and high regard for women. Paradoxical as it may seem, there are several things to consider before coming to a conclusion about Swift’s contempt for women based solely on the majority of his works. Above all, from a purely logical point of view, if Swift did indeed disdain women with the intensity that his writings implied – if he indeed was as unfeeling and hostile towards women as many have claimed – his intimate relationship with Esther Johnson would have been, to say the least, impossible.
First and foremost, a woman hater does not call a woman “the truest, most virtuous, and valuable friend, that [he], or perhaps any other person ever was blessed with” (n.pag.), but these were the very words written by Swift in “On the Death of Mrs. Johnson,” as he recounts receiving the news of her death over which he was quite inconsolable. Although Esther Johnson, whom Swift fondly dubbed “Stella,” was without doubt the person he held in highest esteem, his affection for her did not stop him from being ruthless with his words to her as well. In his birthday poems to her, Swift would tease her about her age and size in a way that would be completely offensive to any other woman. Nevertheless, if one were to look beyond the insults Swift throws at Stella, the sweet familiarity of the poems and the endearing praises of her would come into full view, and it would seem that Stella understood that. Similarly in Journal to Stella, as Frederik N. Smith points out in his article, “Dramatic Elements in Swift’s Journal to Stella,” “together the ladies are jokingly condemned as “negligent baggages,” “saucy brats,” and “unreasonable sluts”” (345). The fact that Stella was able to accept these outrageous name callings as jokes speaks volumes of the depth of their relationship.
Quite contrary to that teasing but coarse language addressed to Stella, was Swift’s usage of “little language” which he used in Journal to Stella. A special rendition of words understood only by Stella and her companion, Mrs. Dingley, this form of baby talk was reserved only for Stella and Mrs. Dingley, whom he affectionately referred to as MD, which meant “my dears.” According to Irvin Ehrenpreis in his article “Swift’s “Little Language” in the Journal to Stella,” “Most scholars consider it to have been for Stella an expression of Swift’s tenderness toward her and of their intimacy” (80). Ehrenpreis also mentions that there have been numerous theories concerning its origins (80), while Smith notes that Deane Swift’s records show that it was “used from the beginning of the correspondence”(335). While the incipience of the language itself cannot be determined with absolute certainty, what is clear is that Swift treasured this language he shared with Stella as it, in many ways, created for him their own little world.
As a matter of fact, Swift’s entire correspondence with Stella, and indeed, his need for this connection seems to reveal a whole other sphere that he had created between him and MD in which he was allowed to explore his wild and creative imagination without the pressure of answering to the public. Virginia Woolf is quoted in Smith’s article, stating that Swift “saw his correspondence with the ladies as an escape from the strains of his life with the great” (350), and although Smith claims to be unsure of Swift’s purpose for incorporating the various dramatic elements in the Journal (350), it seems pretty clear that Woolf’s assessment of Swift was quite accurate. In other words, by incorporating personal and intimate details that he shared with Stella, like little language, with the dramatic elements that Smith writes about in his article, like “self-dramatization, impersonation, parody, mimicry, and scenic methods” (352), he was including her in his world – drawing her into and giving her a glimpse of his literary and dramatic mental faculties which he loved and indeed, took delight in but was often criticized for.
Smith once refers to Swift as “an author [who] was instinctively dramatic” (351); and that is exactly what Swift was. With Stella, Swift was allowed to be himself. It did not matter if he was being silly or satirical. It did not matter if he was talking directly to her or if he was hiding behind a persona. The point was that he was able to enter into a world where he could do what he loved most with the person he loved most without having to consider the stresses of his occupation. Although he was a clergyman by profession and an author in the public sphere, simply put, Swift was a writer. His ingenuity and insight along with his unique gift with words defined him. Therefore, the very nature of this correspondence shows not only Swift’s need for Stella as a means of escape, but an incredibly heart-warming reality in which Swift wanted Stella to be a part of the very core of his being.
Despite Swift’s undeniable love for this woman, accusations of misogyny somehow still prevail with people constantly going back the writings which contain his rather unpleasant descriptions of the female race. Rogers declares that “Swift attacked woman not because she is lustful or tempts to lust, but because she excretes” (376). Throughout her article, Rogers also makes other claims such as, that Swift did not appreciate feminine beauty (371), that Swift had a “distaste for sex” (373), and that Swift had no respect for maternal qualities (376). With regards to his relationship with Stella, Rogers states that he mentions her beauty but does not get deep enough into detail (372). By harping on these obvious observations, however, Rogers completely misses the point that Swift is trying to get at. In a large majority of Swift’s writings, his criticism is not of the woman per se, but of society and how it has placed its focus on the wrong thing – which, ironically, is precisely what Rogers does: continually harp on the wrong thing.
Once again referring back to Swift’s relationship with Stella, one would notice that his praise of her is never focused on her external beauty but on who she was as a person. Above anything else, Swift valued her mind – her intellect – her ability to think. In the article, “Cor Laceratum: Swift’s Journal to Stella,” Stephen D. Powell quotes Swift regarding Stella, that “[n]ever was any of her sex born with better gifts of mind, or more improved them by reading and conversation” (350). Indeed, Powell points out that Swift took pride in her intelligence, as he played a major role in nurturing that part of her which set her one level above the other women of her day (350). Although Swift does occasionally let on that he appreciated Stella’s beauty, for him, the mind was so of so much greater value than what could be seen from the surface. He believed that her mental and character attributes could never be taken from her unlike physical beauty which fades with age. Swift thought that Stella only grew more into her beauty as she aged.
From this perspective, one should be able to discern that Swift’s criticism in poems like “A Beautiful Young Nymph Goes to Bed” or “The Furniture of a Woman’s Mind” are really not meant to be direct attacks at women that they are stupid and worthless, rather it is an appeal to women to recognize their value and capacity for things so much greater than they would allow for themselves simply because society dictates that they live the way they do. “A Beautiful Young Nymph Goes to Bed” is in fact a very sad, heartfelt poem which calls to attention the ugly consequences a woman has to face due to her circumstances. The very title of “The Furniture of a Woman’s Mind” gives away Swift’s idea that all the silly things that women are so prone to thinking about are really not permanent. They do not have to be there. They are not stuck; rather they are moveable – replaceable. Instead of looking at the poem as an insult to women, one should instead look at is as Swift beseeching women to use their God given minds to the fullest capacity – to refurbish their minds so that they could be of some use to society. As for the charge that Swift is against sex, it would probably be more accurate to say that Swift had nothing against sex, but neither did he have much to say about it. His mention of sexually transmitted diseases is nothing more than a reality call, as are the scatological elements of his poetry. His mockery concerning a woman’s excrements only serves to show how ridiculous it was to be narrow minded about the realities of life.
One thing that needs to be kept in mind when confronting the works of Jonathan Swift is that he did not believe in romanticizing anything. Reality to him was reality, and humans needed to learn to face the facts of life – whether ugly or beautiful. If Stella was getting fat, he would point out that she was getting fat. There was no need for him to describe and gush over her every physical attribute as Rogers may seem to prefer. He saw Stella as, not the ideal woman, but how every woman ought to aim towards becoming. What mattered more than anything else to Swift was that the truth was revealed. Every piece of satire, every poem that Swift wrote, was for the good of mankind; written with the purpose of hopefully motivating people towards improvement. Beneath all the sharp words and scorn in his works, Swift simply had a heart that longed to see a better world.
Works Cited
Ehrenpreis, Irvin. ““Swift’s “Little Language” in the Journal to Stella.” Studies in Philology. 45.1 (1948):80-88. Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
“On The Death of Mrs. Johnson.” Jonathan Swift Archive. n.d. Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
Powell. Stephen D. “Cor Laceratum: Swift’s Journal to Stella.” The Modern Language Review. 94.2 (1999):341-354. Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
Rogers, Katharine M. “My Female Friends”: The Misogyny of Jonathan Swift.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 1.3. (1959): 366-379. Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
Smith, Frederik N. “Dramatic Elements in Swift’s Journal to Stella.” Eighteenth-Century Studies. 1.4 (1968):332-352. Web. 9 Sep 2012.