Category: Uncategorized

“For all these reasons, as well as others, it is the only one of the four that has attracted the ire and the angst of the mainstream legal academy.” (West 208)

It’s interesting to note that this study of the narrative voice is the only one that didn’t originate in the law and literature movement and is the most “out there” of the four in that sense. Thus, it is controversial as seemingly anything that tries to truly push the boundary often is

Why do we default back to defensive positions when we encounter something that we may even understand what its core idea is but maybe not exactly fit into the worldview, and does the mainstream legal academy fear being outdated by this one idea?

“And now, Miss Smithers,” said James, when she had done, “I am very sorry to have to do so; but I must ask you to exhibit the document to the Court.” Poor Augusta coloured and her eyes filled with tears, as she slowly undid the dust-cloak which hid her shoulders (for, of course, she had come in low dress). The Judge, looking up sharply, observed her natural distress. “If you prefer it, Miss Smithers,” said his Lordship, courteously, “I will order the court to be cleared of every-one except those who are actually engaged in the case.” At these ominous words a shudder of disgust passed through the densely packed ranks. It would indeed, they felt, after all their striving, be hard if they were deprived of the sight of the will; and they stared at her despairingly, to see what she would answer. “I thank your Lordship,” she said, with a little bow; “but there would still be so many left that I do not think that it would greatly matter. I hope that everybody will understand my position, and extend their consideration to me.” “Very well,” said the Judge, and without further ado she took off the cloak, and the silk handkerchief beneath it, and stood before the court dressed in a low black dress. “I am afraid that I must ask you to come up here,” said his Lordship. Accordingly she walked round, mounted the bench, and then turned her back to the Judge, in order that he might examine what was written on it. This he did very carefully with the aid of a magnifying glass, referring now and again to the photographic copy which Doctor Probate had filed in the Registry. “Thank you,” he said presently, “that will do. I am afraid that the learned counsel below will wish to have an opportunity of inspection.” So Augusta had to descend and slowly walk along the ranks, stopping before every learned leader to be carefully examined, while hundreds of eager eyes in the background were fixed upon her unfortunate neck. However, at last it came to an end. “That will do, Miss Smithers,” said the Judge, for whose consideration she felt deeply grateful; “you can put on your cloak again now.” Accordingly she did so and re-entered the box. (pgs. 137-138)

Since the will itself needed to be viewed from right off her body, the court itself has to make her undress to her low black dress, mortifying her as she must be exposed to the whole of the court while attempting to keep her composure.

It’s interesting to note how much attitudes towards not only tattoos, but outfits have changed as well. How low exactly is her dress, and would it be viewed as anything abnormal today in the slightest?

In Solid Objects/Ghosts of Chairs by Graham Fraser, the author explores Virginia Woolf’s fascination with inanimate objects disconnected from human attention when they are not observed or outright abandoned, and how she dives into the world nearly entirely devoid of human connection thus sparking a somewhat lifelike reality in these objects, further trivializing human presence and highlighting that all humans, who we view as rightfully important, as profoundly fragile  in our world. Furthermore, the author goes on to describe that in Virginia Woolf’s “The Lady in the Looking Glass”, the objects in the room are not only anthropomorphised, but wrapped up in an ecological world of their own as well, creating a deeper sense of meaning in the world of the objects. Then, the author goes on to describe a sense of domestication in the room in the story, as the character Isabella has carefully curated the items that are in there, but also in a sense linking all her items to her in a realm of her making where “sometimes it seemed as if they knew more about her than we”, and in those items lie the real Isabella (Pg. 3). Thus the overarching idea posed by the author is that the “objects in this story are outside human attention in the sense of being unwitnessed (except to the unseen narrator-naturalist), yet they are nonetheless inscribed within the larger human attention of being domesticated—taking the order of their existence within the inhabited space of the tidy and well-arranged house” (Pg.4) The author goes about illustrating these vast ideas about the life and death of objects by taking examples from Virgina Woolf’s works, and interpreting them in a way that goes beyond simply stating that Woolf intends to make these objects seem alive, but to more fully comprehend that not only are they alive, they are controlled and curated by humans but have their own world that can neither be fully seen nor understood by humans, thus creating that idea that humans are fragile even in the worlds they think they have made and mastered. This whole concept is important because it really makes one reconsider just what it means to be human, and how we influence the things and objects we have, and how they not only know us but influence us back.

I found this analysis not only fascinating but in some way deeply unsettling. The idea that we can only control the things we own to the point of arrangement, or that they may know us better than anyone feels very correct in a way, but also isolating. How much does any individual matter if they can’t even be the most important thing in their room? But, it’s also an interesting test in willing to acknowledge that while indeed we may not be any more valuable than our objects, how can you process that? Thus, it in a way highlights how valuable our whole world is, that even your objects exist in a fragile ecosystem of their own reality, and when abandoned or forgotten they too can fall into decay and in a way die. With the analysis by Graham Fraser, I don’t really see any real places I would push back or increase the substance for that matter, then again I am still reeling from this profound realization that we, in a way, are truly no more than the sum of the items we have and the connections we make with others on the way,simply a ghost in our own world trying to leave something behind or find what will make us whole.

In the article Entering Darkness by Robin Mitchell, the author focuses on the vague and stereotypical inclusion of black women in french art and culture, as a representation of forbiddenness as well as a tool of the French monarchy to keep black people subjugated in a time of great political upheaval The author first does this by introducing a painting called Les Galeries du Palais-Royal where the inclusion of a black woman in a debauched scene is the actual thing that pushes it too far, so much so that she isn’t even included in the writing that the painting is based upon, as her inclusion would’ve been “too shocking for the public of 1790” to witness (Pg. 4). As such, the arrival of Sarah Baartman, as described by the author, was seen as “a convenient distraction from political upheaval and social change” that was occuring in 1814 (Pg. 6). Thus, she was not viewed as a person so much as a caricature they could exaggerate and point to as someone who was lesser than them. The author goes about illustrating the issue at hand by taking a wider lens to the issue, and backs it out to the point of demonstrating why the French would want to make such a mimicry of her being in the first place, as she was simply used as a distraction for everyone to point at and say they were superior than. The reason why looking at the point that the author makes here is important is to truly view in how many ways racism can be employed as a destructive, degrading tool to improve the standing in some way of the user while putting down the oppressed, such as the perspective that the author illustrates that these purely racist images fabricated by France were thus used by them to say to the people that though France was struggling, it could therefore be “worse” and that they, the people are better than “them”.

The analysis put forward by Robin Mitchell is a truly fascinating and informative one in my opinion. Not only does it provide a very interesting perspective on the piece, it truly provides the “why” of why the “Venus Hottentot” was created in the first place: as a racist manifestation of inward concern and turmoil in France at the time, and was used a political tool to distract and appease the people in a way that had no bearing on the real issues of the time. I find this piece particularly distressing as they treated a human life as nothing more than a curiosity to gawk at and prodded, just so that the people could be entertained in some manner. In a way, I believe this is the most powerful piece we have look at yet in this class, as it shows just the lengths people will go to absolutely tear down a person just so that they can continue to live well without solving the real problems that are underlying. My only real criticism would be to show more examples of mistreatment as displayed in culture like Sarah Baartman, and how are they used throughout the ages as misdirection from the real issues at hand.

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