Editor Kate Lilley calls The Blazing World, "...a narrative of the liberty of the female soul and the emancipatory possibilities of utopian speculation and writing specifically for women."
It starts off with an intriguing story. A woman who is abducted and then shipwrecked lands in a fantasy world populated by bear, fox and bird-men and becomes their Empress. It made me think of China Miéville's Bas Lag fantasy world populated by a mish mash of animal and insect men, so I was gratified to find that Miéville references Cavendish in his books Kraken and Un Lun Dun and to find this article "Trans-speciation: From Margaret Cavendish to China Miéville" by Amardeep Singh at The Valve, A Literary Organ.
The middle of the story lost interest for me. There is a long section of back and forth dialogue with philosophical discourse between the Empress and her various subjects (bird, bear and fish-men etc.). Without the effort of a closer reading or knowledge of 17th century discussions of the day, I found this hard to follow and skimmed much of it. In his introduction to a sample of the work in The Faber Book of Utopias, editor John Carey calls The Blazing World "tedious and rambling" and this section in particular "loquaciously unenlightening."
However, the end caught me up again in Cavendish's marvelous meta discussion. She appears as a character in the story and discusses creating worlds in fiction with the Empress.
The "and other writings" are two stories that appeared in Cavendish's publication Nature's Pieces (1656) "The Contract" and "Assaulted and Pursued Chastity." "The Contract" reads a bit like a fairy tale romance with the protagonist rather more empowered but the happily ever after marriage ending intact.
"Assaulted and Pursued Chastity," was fascinating. Our heroine, (Miseria, Affectionata, Travelia — her name changes throughout) goes to extremes to protect her virtue. She shoots a prince, takes poison but is revived, and then dresses as a man and escapes aboard a ship.
It was a great choice by Lilley to include these two works. They gave me a greater appreciation for The Blazing World and better understanding of Cavendish's perspective.
Cavendish is a fascinating personality and prolific writer. At a time in which it was rare for women to publish and sign their works, Cavendish put herself forward as an author. Like the Lady Gaga of her time, she was an eccentric in dress and action who sought and achieved fame. She wished for her writing to make its mark and has succeeded with writers from Virginia Woolf to China Miéville, if critically, noting her contribution. I'm a fan — and interested in learning more about her life, work, and the era in which she lived.
Pairs well with:
China Miéville's Un Lun Dun, Perdido Street Station and The Scar; Virginia Woolf's The Common Reader, A Room of One's Own; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland; and The Faber Book of Utopias.
Quotes:
"But your creating Fancy, thought it fit
To make your World of Nothing, but pure Wit.
Your Blazing-world, beyond the Stars mounts higher,
Enlightens all with a Celestial Fire.
— William Cavendish
"...although I have neither power, time nor occasion to conquer the world as Alexander and Caesar did; yet rather than not be mistress of one...I have made a world of my own: for which no body, I hope, will blame me, since it is in every one's power to do the like." — Margaret Cavendish
"What a vision of loneliness and riot the thought of Margaret Cavendish brings to mind! as if some giant cucumber has spread itself over all the roses and carnations in the garden and choked them to death." — Virginia Woolf on Margaret Cavendish in A Room of One's Own
"Nevertheless, though her philosophies are futile, and her plays intolerable, and her verses mainly dull, the vast bulk of the Duchess is leavened by a vein of authentic fire. One cannot help following the lure of her erratic and lovable personality as it meanders and twinkles through page after page. There is something noble and Quixotic and high-spirited, as well as crack-brained and bird-witted, about her. Her simplicity is so open; her intelligence so active; her sympathy with fairies and animals so true and tender." — Virginia Woolf on Margaret Cavendish in The Common Reader
Comments
Post a Comment