Lady Mary Wortley Montagu - Essay Example

? Lady Mary Wortley Montagu Task Lady Montagu, born in 1689, was the first daughter of Evelyn and Mary Pierrepont. Her father was the earl of Kingston during her younger age. She was known for travelling widely and her extensive form of literature. She got married to Edward Wortley Montagu, a Cambridge graduate who was designated to congress in the year 1716. Most of her writings were written at the same time as she was in Turkey where her companion served as an ambassador. Her greatest piece was on inoculation to minimize the spread of smallpox. When she was a child, she had suffered from smallpox; hence, this could have inspired her to write on smallpox. She died in 1762, and her writings were later published in 1837. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is known for writing letters, including an answer to a love letter. Montagu turned to different forms of Augustan verse, which include epics, satires, epistles, essays and songs to respond to her various events in her life and in one way or another, give the public an insight of what she was going through. One of her most fascinating poem is the Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband. In Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s writings, the most commonly typified themes are her concept of female uniqueness, love, and relationships. She portrays her ideas and personal experiences of aging and marriage, and exemplifies through her letters how a woman should conduct herself at diverse ages in her life. This paper will analyze an epistle from Mrs. Yonge to her husband by Lady Mary Montagu, the theme of love and oppression, and issues concerning gender inequality and divorce-related problems. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband’s subject is love. Its genre is a satirical lyric, and it is a public letter discussing Mrs. Yonge divorce. This was a tradition in their older days, whereby they had to display their problems to the public about the men who had betrayed or abandoned them. Montagu analyses the relationships in the form of women being considered as slaves, exemplifying a common assumption that males are superior to women. A priceless thing, though, was that she believed in love, which led to her writing this letter. This letter from Mrs. Yonge is about a woman who was accused of adultery, and was taken to court by her husband. This, however, is ironic, considering the actuality that he was also cheating. This poem looks at the contradiction of public ethics that overlooks men’s infidelity and denounces female faithlessness, presenting the inequality. She questions this in her poem by asking, “From whence is this unjust distinction grown?” (Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband, lines 25-26). The traditional concept that women are second-rate to men, and they are supposed to be submissive to their husbands is still the foremost problem in societies today. She points out that as soon as they get married start thinking of finding another lover. Montagu in her poem states that, “The weak, submissive sex of womankind” clearly showing that women are overridden because they are deemed as submissive, emotional and get hurt easily. Lady Mary’s concern is about the inequitable laws on divorce and ill treatment a woman tolerates in the marriage institution. This displays the theme of oppression, whereby the woman is made to suffer because of her sexuality. Mrs. Yonge wonders why women are not supposed to enjoy the same things that a man enjoys. During the court battle, he was considered as the ‘not-guilty’ one while the wife was left in the cold without any financial support or division of wealth. He went unpunished for his crimes and the fact that he was deceitful on his wife. Men tend to get away in most situations, they consider themselves as the stronger sex, and the issue of gender inequality, therefore, comes up. In the 18th century, women did not have a considerable say in matters concerning their families; approval to do anything largely depended on men. Things though have changed slightly especially in the developed countries whereby a wife is allowed to make significant decisions in the family. Lady Mary in her poem describes that women are free until they meet their potential suitors who influence a woman’s social, economic, and political aspects in their lives. The sexual double standard led the women to attempt leading a life without their husbands. Consequently, Lady Mary criticizes this idea when she states, “But we must sigh in Silence-and be true. Our Sexes Weakness you expose and blame, (Of every Prattling Fop the common Theme), yet from this Weakness you suppose is due, Sublimer Virtu than your Cato knew.... (31-35).” Chastity was a significant virtue in the 18th century relationships. If a wife was to become unfaithful, it was assumed that nothing could recover what they had lost. The virtue was so prominent, and a woman had to keep it pure, since it was closely esteemed to virginity. Women had a sole responsibility in a marriage to maintaining a relationship, and she still has in some communities. Wives were supposed to ignore adultery, abuse, and drunkenness in their husbands and were to make marriage and relationships a ‘safer’ place for man. The themes of oppression and love are widely viewed in this poem, and they are a leading setback in happy marriages even in the recent ages. Women in the 18th century expressed their feelings through writing of letters, believing that letters gave them the freedom to tell their personal stories, and experiences especially in their marriage lives. Although, they found liberty in writing these letters, they had at some point limit themselves on what they wrote. Lady Mary also restricted herself, and followed their traditions, meaning that deeper things might have happened to her in her marriage. At the beginning of the poem, Lady Mary allows her persona’s grievances to be heard. In lines 22 and 23, Lady Mary compares women to slaves; she states that a “wounded slave regains liberty”, a wife does not get at that point where she gets liberty. Women endure problems more than slaves can do; some critics argue that slaves are treated better than women are in marriage. Women have greater self-discipline and common sense than men after all. Different roles have been assigned to both women and men, with women playing unacceptable roles and men playing the acceptable and decent roles. During the 18th century, women had started to realize that they were not treated right; Lady Mary played a prominent role in this through her writings. Therefore, her writings have been of considerable help to women in the societal context. Women suffer, not because they are married, but because they look weak and submissive. Reference Sandra, Gilbert, and Susan, Gubar (2007). The Norton Anthology of Literature, the Traditions in English by Women. New York: W. Norton & Company. Read More