Jonathan Swift in his writing often mentions the female body with repugnance. He very often dwells with exaggerated horror both at the sight of a woman’s body performing its normal bodily functions or and at the sight of a nude female who falls short of the cold perfection of statuary. Many have concluded from this that he hated women and considered them inferior to men.
A closer examination of his work, though shows this to be a misconception. In fact, Swift perceives women to be on an essentially equal plane with men in three different areas. These areas are as follows: social accountability, educational abilities, and purpose of existence. Actually, considering the century in which Swift lived, his views are extraordinary, and differ drastically from the views of most of his contemporaries.
Jonathan Swift’s writings convey that he believed that women should hold a larger role in English society. Proof of these ideals became evident after examination of Swift’s works. Swift did not believe, as his society did, that a woman should not be educated. Swift also dismissed the idea that a woman should be valued on her physical appearance, rather than her actions as a human being. To fully understand the views that Swift exhibited the reader must have some background on Swift himself and women’s role in society in the 18th century.
The general view of women in the 18th century was that the sole purpose of a woman’s existence was that of an object to be enjoyed by men (McGrath 27). Women were necessary for procreation, reproduction, and their domestic abilities. Women were valued only for their appearances and physical attributes. It was a common belief that the education of a woman was unnecessary, based on the role she would play in society (McGrath 27). Despite the presence of female rule in England during that time period, these perceptions of women were common place (Ehrenpreis 250).
One might argue that Jonathan Swift’s opinions on the role of women would be considered chauvinistic and sexist by today’s standards; however, in eighteenth century England his opinions differed drastically from those of his peers. In examining Swift’s writings, one quickly notices a theme that is repeated continually.
Jonathan Swift believed that people typically behaved immorally. Swift did not judge men and women separately for their actions, but looked at them as equally contributing factors in a society that was plagued by immorality, injustice, and corruption. Swift makes the assessment in “A Voyage to Laputa” that the human qualities that should be of value to a man are “honor, justice, wisdom, and learning” (Swift 141). In addition, the qualities that should be of value to a woman are constancy, chastity, good sense, and good nature (Swift 141). However, Swift is able to illustrate that the qualities upon which most men and women instead tend to place the most importance on are “wit, valor, politeness, appeal to the opposite sex, amount of sexual conquests, beauty, and skill in dressing” (Swift 141).
Swift valued chastity and virtue as necessary attributes of women. In “A Voyage to Brobdinag” Swift makes this statement which reiterates his displeasure at the behavior exhibited by young women:
That which gave me [the] most uneasiness among [the] Maids of[Honor] … was to see them use me without any manner of ceremony, like a creature who had no sort of consequence. For they would strip themselves to the skin, and put on their smocks in my presence, while I was placed directly before their naked bodies …(95)
Swift uses the Maids of Honor to represent women who disregard their own virtue and disregard the opinion that is formed when an honorable man witnesses their behavior. To further make his point Swift writes “the handsomest among these Maids of [Honor], a pleasant, [frolicsome] girl of sixteen, would sometimes set me astride one of her nipples…” (95-96). The sexual reference and the attention to the girl’s age, signify the lack of morals instilled in some young women of Swift’s time. Swift makes examples of these women, not so much as to degrade them, but to condemn their behavior.
It is difficult to criticize Jonathan Swift’s ideals regarding women, when two hundred years later these same issues are still relevant today. Promiscuity, out of wed lock births, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases are some of the chronic problems the youth of our society presently face every day. It seems quite evident that Jonathan Swift pointed out a lack of concern among young women of the 1700’s, which has blossomed into a global problem that has spanned centuries.
Let’s now turn our focus towards Jonathan Swift’s views concerning the education of women. Jonathan Swift was himself an educator of women. Swift was considered part of an “enlightened social [circle],” which included Sir William Temple (Ruffner 421). Temple’s social circle was one that believed in the education of women and an expanded role for women in English society (Ruffner 421). It may have been this influence that led to Jonathan Swift’s beliefs concerning women. Temple was a distant relative of Swift’s mother, as well as a prominent member of society. Swift was employed by Temple as a secretary and also resided in Temple’s home.
While residing with Temple, Swift met a young woman named Esther Johnson, whom he referred to as Stella (“Jonathan Swift” 443). Stella was the daughter of a housekeeper, also employed by William Temple. Swift was given the job of tutoring Stella when she was a young girl and he a young man. It has been speculated that Stella became Swift’s mistress later in life; however, they were not romantically involved when he became her educator (“Jonathan Swift” 443).
In a society that deemed the education of women unnecessary, it is a remarkable fact that Swift took on the responsibility of educating Esther Johnson. In addition to tutoring Stella, Swift also acted as a tutor to a young woman named Esther Van Homrigh, whom he would refer to as Vanessa (“Jonathan Swift” 444). Swift’s opinions regarding the education of women are restated time and again throughout Gulliver’s Travels. For example, in “A Voyage to Lilliput,” Swift writes:
… The young ladies [are] as much ashamed of being cowards and fools, as the men: and despise all personal
ornaments beyond decency and cleanliness; neither did
I perceive any difference in their education, made by their difference of sex…(43)
The meaning of this statement is quite clear and it proves that Jonathan Swift was a supporter of educating women.One might argue that Swift sometimes writes that a female’s education should differ from a man’s in that it includes topics relating to domestic life. However, during the 18th century, it was normal practice for a woman to run the household, and a man to take care of the family’s financial well being. In the 1700’s it was extremely rare for a woman to hold a job outside of the home. It was also commonly believed among men that women need not be educated at all, because their main purposes in society were to tend to domestic dealings, procreation, and reproduction (McGrath 27).
Another fine example of Swift’s views, concerning the equality of women, lies within his personal relationships; proof of which can be found in his personal correspondence. An example of this can be found in Swift’s comment in a letter written to a young lady. Swift writes, “I am ignorant of any one quality that is amiable in a man which is not equally so in a woman…so there is no quality whereby women endeavor to distinguish themselves from men for which they are not just so much the worse” (Ehrenpreis 250).
The largest collection of Swift’s personal letters, are now known as the Journal to Stella which is comprised of letters that Swift wrote to Esther Johnson between 1710 and 1713 (“Jonathan Swift” 445).
Throughout his letters to Stella, Swift treats her as an equal, making no allowances for lack of intellectual capabilities, and trusting her to follow his direction and meanings (Ehrenpreis 260). Swift often sent Stella political pamphlets, and in Journal to Stella he can be quoted as telling her, “…I find I can write politics to you much easier than to any body alive…” (97). It can be argued that Swift would not say anything negative to Stella, because she may have been his mistress. It was rumored that the two were secretly married, although the exact relationship between Stella and Swift has never been defined. However, throughout his letters to Stella, the general feelings expressed are that of friendship; thus Swift would have had no reason to falsify his admiration of her. After her death in 1728, Swift stated that Stella was “the truest, most virtuous, and valuable friend that I or any other person, was ever blessed with” (Journal to Stella v). He also praised her for her knowledge of history and philosophy, and her understanding of government (Ehrenpreis 260).
These examples not only reinforce Swift’s opinions regarding the education of women, but they also give us the impression that Swift was capable of admiring a woman for her intellect and her achievements. In addition, these examples show that Swift personally believed that both sexes were equal, in that they should be judged based on their qualities as a person, and not on their sex alone.
The final area which sets Swift’s views apart from those that were accepted in 18th century English society, are his views concerning a woman’s purpose in existence. As noted earlier, the majority of men believed that the sole purpose of a woman was for a male’s sexual enjoyment, child bearing, and domestic functions (McGrath 27). Consequently, women were valued for their physical attributes and their appearance. Men placed such importance on these things that vanity and jealousy became rampant among women. Jonathan Swift continually dismissed the importance that men placed on a woman’s physical beauty throughout his writings. Likewise, he criticized women for their behavior regarding their own appearance, and the lengths they would go to for male attention.
Indeed, in “A Voyage to Laputa” Swift paints an amazing picture of a society of men and women that are so without morals, that the government taxes the principles that the general population finds important. The men are allowed to pay the amount they see fit based on the following: how attractive they are to women, the amount and nature of favors they receive from women, and their wit, valor, and politeness. The women are taxed based on their beauty and skill in dressing (Swift 141). Thus, a man wanting all of his neighbors to think he was continually sleeping with different women would go poor paying out excessive amounts of money to the government.
In “A Voyage to Brobdinag,” Swift uses the giant Brobdinagian women to illustrate flaws in a woman’s beauty that are generally overlooked, or hidden. The women of Brobdinag repulse Gulliver because he can see the huge pores, spots, and pimples that mar their skin. Additionally, he is overwhelmed by their body odor. Gulliver is then forced to make the connection that the women of England, that he normally finds so beautiful, have the same flaws, but he just does not see them as easily because they are of the same size (Swift 71,95).
In the poem “A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed” Jonathan Swift criticizes the lengths a women will go to in order to appear beautiful. Swift writes of Corinna, a young lady who climbs four stories to return to her room at midnight, who then removes her hair, her crystal eye, and her teeth, in addition to a myriad of other things designed to make her beautiful (1-29). Rather than being evidence that Swift hates women, however, it serves many other purposes. It dispels the unrealistic and superficial conceptions vision men have regarding a woman’s beauty, a misconception, incidentally that operates as an unpleasant and often destructive psychological burden to women themselves in many cases. It draws attention to the young woman’s lack of virtue, and it makes light of the amount of work necessary to make Corinna look as beautiful as she does at first sight.
The best example of this, however, comes in the poem “The Lady’s Dressing Room.” In this poem, Swift writes of a young rogue who sneaks into the room of a lovely maiden when she is not there. The young man is mortified to find her room in a total state of disarray: her filthy clothes strewn about, her washing cloths soiled and stinking, her vast array of brushes and combs encrusted with dandruff and hair, and lastly, proof that she had bowel movements. It is with pure genius that Swift uses bodily functions to symbolize the equality of men and women (1-49, 98-110).
All of these examples could be construed as derogatory to women and the female body; however, it is not the female body Swift is bashing, so much as the behavior of men and women in general. These examples make light of the importance men placed on women’s physical appearances. These examples depict the vain manner among women, their willingness to deceive, and the lengths they would go to achieve their illusion of themselves. Are women of today’s society any different? We spend millions of dollars a year on cosmetics, plastic surgery, and miracle diets. Jonathan Swift, once again, was ahead of his time. These examples remove the pedestals women are placed on, by the men of English society. Swift puts women on the same level as the men, where they are to be judged based upon their capabilities, and of being a worthwhile person, instead of an object of beauty. He goes to the extreme of using bodily functions as a means to symbolize equality, which also serves to express the ridiculousness of the entire situation. Essentially what Swift is saying is that the value of a woman should be based on who she is, and not what she appears, or what a man desires her to be.
It is reasonable to assess, that Jonathan Swift held the opinion that women had flawed characters, that they possessed qualities in their personalities that were unattractive, and they put too much importance on issues that had no substance. It is also reasonable to assess that Jonathan Swift desired a better human race than existed in the 1700’s. He wanted a society in which women were educated equally with men. He wanted a society in which men and women placed a great deal of importance on their virtue, morals, and intelligence. Swift desired a society, in which both men and women determined the value of another human beings, based on the behavior that person exhibited, not on the way that person looked.
Swift’s use of vulgar examples and degrading symbolism was in response to the vulgar society in which he lived. Jonathan Swift’s views on woman are put into practice in today’s society more than at any other time in history. His views were way ahead of his time, considering the standards for women in the 1700’s. Most of the problems that plagued Jonathan Swift’s society are still relevant today, with the exception of female education. In examining his writing, this reader found many parallels between 18th century England, and soon to be 21st century America. In conclusion, it is reasonable to assess that if Jonathan Swift were alive today, he would still desire all of the same things, but he would be pleased to see that we have achieved some of his dreams.
Works Cited
Ehrenpreis, Irvin. “Letters of Advice to Young Spinsters.” Stuart and Georgian Moments: Clark Library Seminar Papers on Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Literature. Ed. Earl Miner. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972.
Greenberg, Robert A. and William Bowan Piper. Ed. The Writings of Jonathan Swift. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Inc.1973.
McGrath, Lynette. “The Other Body: Women’s Inscription of Their Physical Images in 16th and 17th Century England.” Women’s Studies. https://web2.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/…A19955468&dyn+8!ar_fmt?sw_aep=wcn_main. Jan. 1997. Vol. 26. 27-32.
Rogers, Pat. Ed. The Eighteenth Century. New York: Holmes and Meir, 1978.
Ruffner, Frederick G. Literature Criticism. 1984. Vol. 1. 421.
“Swift, Jonathan.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 1997. Vol. 11. 443-445. Swift, Jonathan. Stella’s Birthday March 13, 1719. https://library.utoronto.ca/www/utel/rp/poems/swift2.html. 13 Mar. 1719.
Swift, Jonathan. Journal to Stella. Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing Limited, 1984.
Swift, Jonathan. A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed www.geocities.com/soho/nook/7255/nymph.html.
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. Ed. Phillip Smith. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.