Masquerade Theory!!

I had to follow the heading for this entry with double exclamation marks because I am excited about the sources my research has uncovered regarding this theory...

Russo, Mary. “Female Grotesques: Carnival and Theory.” Feminist Studies / Critical Studies. Ed. Theresa de Lauretis. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986. 213-229. Print.   Russo explores in her essay how both silence and bold performance from women “have suggested cultural politics for women” (213).  Her essay illuminates how the carnival theory and the masquerade theory can be either oppressive or transgressive agents for women depending on their uses.  Building off of the Russian scholar Mikhail Bakhtin’s observation of “bodily exposure and containment, disguise and gender masquerade, abjection and marginality, parody and excess” (214), Russo first explains that the carnivalesque may be used to reveal women’s (and other marginalized groups’) compliance to patriarchal standards, but it can also be used as a tool of transgression, such as when women participate in intentional masquerade, a performance of femininity.  In other words, Russo defines femininity as a mask—an idea earlier set forth in an essay by Joan Riviere— that can be removed and replaced at her will.  She can put on femininity (as men define it) to either manipulate or please men, but she can take it off when it is not convenient (223-224).  The mask, when women understand how to use it, can give women more control, but it can make women more compliant if they do not know how to remove it.  This essay contributes to the ongoing feminist conversation of women’s agency in a patriarchal society, and it explains how women can use the stereotypes placed on them by the rules of patriarchal society to their advantage.  Russo’s argument, especially the portion dedicated to describing masquerade, will help me analyze Rebecca Reed's actions and to evaluate if she demonstrates agency by “using” her femininity to her advantage.

Riviere, Joan. “Womanliness as a Masquerade.” Formations of Fantasy. Ed. Victor Burgin, James Donald, and Cora Kaplan. New York: Methuen & Co., 1986. 35-44. Print.   Riviere explains the manner in which a woman she knew would flirt and use her femininity to capture the approval of men, ultimately in an effort to ward off the stress from her job.  Riviere then applies psychoanalysis to this woman’s dreams.  The woman had dreams of people putting on masks in order to avert disasters and dreams in which she disguised herself from men, which Riviere explains is an attempt to “‘disguise herself’ as merely a castrated woman.  In that guise the man found no stolen property on her which he need attack her to recover and, further, found her attractive as an object of love” (38).  Then Riviere gives a definition of masquerade: “Womanliness therefore could be assumed and worn as a mask, both to hide the possession of masculinity and to avert the reprisals expected if she was found to possess it—much as a thief will turn out his pockets and ask to be searched to prove that he has not the stolen goods” (38).  Riviere goes on to assert that womanliness and masquerade are the same thing.  A woman performs her femininity.  Riviere provides a clear and direct definition and analysis of masquerade, and I definitely intend to utilize her definition of masquerade in my project as the foundation to explore masquerade in Six Months in a Convent (whether it is gender, religion, or motives being performed).

Tierney, Helen. Women's Studies Encyclopedia: Revised and Expanded Edition. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999. Print.  Tierney, a Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, specialized in women’s history and ancient history.  She edited this highly acclaimed encyclopedia (mentioned in Booth’s Craft of Research), and it is a multidisciplinary reference tool that covers multiple aspects of the female condition.  Hundreds of contributors, including Tierney, submitted entries examining women’s “contributions to literature, art, science, learning, philosophy, religion, and their place in history” (vii).  Obviously, women will continue to play a part in all of these areas, and so this encyclopedia will either need to be updated again periodically, or it will serve to feature women prior to the twenty-first century.  I am specifically interested in volume 2’s entry on British Eighteenth-Century Novelists and their performance of masquerade.  I did not know where this idea originated, and I assumed it was first articulated by Joan Riviere; however, this encyclopedia attributes its origin to Count Heidegger in the early eighteenth-century (1007), and refers to the author adopting a disguise, allowing her to participate in someone else’s “self.”  In this case, the female protagonist of the novels could speak her mind behind an aggressive mask of a gypsy, for example.  Unlike Riviere, Schofield (the author of the entry) claims that the aggressive mask is the true self of the female (acting like an illusion), whereas Riviere points at patriarchal femininity as a mask that hides ones masculinity.  Either way, it is a performance, and this is the aspect I want to focus on in my essay—the performance aspect.

Contextual Documents

The following documents can tell us more about Rebecca Reed and the controversies surrounding her text:

For a background of the Ursuline Convent Riots, the Anti-Catholic sentiments held by the Protestants in the early eighteen hundreds, and Rebecca Reed's connection to it all, go to the following online text American Protestantism and Its Captivities, Chapter Seven:

Chapter Seven: Two "Escaped Nuns" Rebecca Reed and Maria Monk

The photograph above, taken from Nancy Schultz's introduction of Veil of Fear, is an illustration of a nun fleeing a convent, and it represents the fear and controversy expressed in the escaped convent narratives.  Rebecca Reed's story was just one of many tales that aimed to expose the purported corruption of the Catholic convents, and it was part of an ongoing literary battle between the Protestants and the Catholics in the early eighteenth century.

The image above, a digitalized version of a document in the American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives, is an unknown nun's description of Reed's acceptance into the convent and her departure six months later.  This is a digitalized version of the first page, but all four pages can be viewed on the following webpage:  

Fragment Account of Miss Reed's Stay in the Ursuline Convent

This document is just one of many that contribute to the argument between the Protestants and the Catholics.  This document appears to be defending the convent against any deceptive tactics or ill-treatment towards Rebecca Reed during her six months at the Ursuline Convent.

This wood engraving (above), which depicts the ruins after the Ursuline Convent Riot,

 is found in the collection of the Charlestown (Massachusetts) Historical Society, USA. 

A sketch of the ruins can be found here: Sketch of Ursuline Convent Ruins 1842

This picture of the Ursuline Convent in flames (above) is courtesy of the Northeastern University Press.

Both of the above documents illustrate a point that is mentioned in the introduction to Reed's Six Months in a Convent.  Many Catholics blamed Reed for the rioters' actions, pointing to her book as motivation for the hateful act.  Reed wrote her book as a response to angry writers who blamed her for the destruction of the convent.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RIOT:

The following radio interview from 99.9FM WBUR.ORG reveals some interesting details regarding the riot:

Radio Interview with Nancy Lusignan Schultz regarding the Ursuline Riots 

The above article expresses worry that "another girl" has gone missing from the convent.  This became a common worry as Protestant parents began to hear stories of corruption regarding the convent.  Parents worried about their daughters, especially since the convent was not open for the public's perusal.  The bottom of the article shows that the concern of this young women was unnecessary, as the mother cleared up the confusion.  This article represents the rumors and fear towards convents and Catholicism held by the public in the early eighteen hundreds.

The above article also expresses the concern that Protestant parents have towards the secrecy of the convent.  This article further illustrates the fear associated with convents and Catholicism.

Other articles regarding Rebecca Reed, the Ursuline Convent Riot, and the tension between the Protestant and Catholic religions can be found in the digital archives of the Catholic University of America:

Documents Related to the Ursuline Convent, 1833-1903

A Proposal, Rebecca Reed: An Escaped Nun's Story of Manipulation and Masquerade

Rebecca Reed:

An Escaped Nun’s Story of Manipulation and Masquerade

            Rebecca Reed’s and Maria Monk’s stories of their escapes from allegedly corrupt convents in 1835 and 1836, respectively, opened the door for an outbreak of Anti-Catholic literature in the form of escaped convent narratives.  Many modern scholars have analyzed the unruly actions of female characters in Rebecca Reed’s Six Months in a Convent, examining who demonstrates power in her story.  For instance, many view the novel as an instrument to expose the Catholics’ corruption, thus giving power to the Protestants.  Others debate whether men exercise control of Reed, by ghostwriting in her tale.  A few scholars, such as Nancy Schultz, analyze Mother Superior as a female antagonist (Schultz compares her to Weetamoo from Mary Rowlandson’s narrative).  Within the theme of control, Susan Griffin approaches female unruliness in Reed’s narrative from a unique approach.  She asserts that the escaped nun’s tale reveals “the fundamental weakness of the female self on which American Protestantism rests,” and that Rebecca Reed, by writing her narrative, incriminates her entire gender (105). Furthermore, Griffin argues that women who wrote escaped convent narratives had to employ various techniques to gain trust (such as having their narratives introduced by males), since they made vows to the Catholic Church and shortly denounced them. By building off of Griffin’s argument, I will explore how Reed uses her gender as a device to plead innocence and naivety.

In other words, I will explain how Rebecca Reed implements masquerade as a manipulation tool in her narrative.  I intend to implement the theory of masquerade as explained by Mary Russo in “Female Grotesques:  Carnival and Theory” in which a woman is able to put on and remove her femininity.  In addition to masquerade as a device used by Reed to manipulate her publishers and readers, I will explore the layers of manipulation in Reed’s narrative, including how Protestant male publishers manipulate Reed, the publisher’s introduction manipulates the reader, nuns and priests manipulate Reed, and Reed manipulates the reader, by paying close attention to Reed’s voice.  To demonstrate how Reed uses masquerade to gain authority in her narrative, I will explain how she displays signs of removal and repositioning of her femininity; namely, I will look for a duality in the manner she presents herself.

            My paper aims to add to the existing conversation regarding escaped convent narratives by specifically focusing on the narrative that jumpstarted their popularity, Reed’s Six Months in a Convent.  Many scholars view the female writers of these narratives as either victims or liars, but in my paper I will show how it is not such a clear-cut issue.  Due to others’ attempt to control Reed, she performs masquerade to gain control of how others view her.  Using Russo’s theory, I will be exploring femininity as a performance and a political tool for women to gain control in a patriarchal society. Ultimately, I will show that Reed gains more control over her situation than current scholars give her credit for.

Abstract of Griffin's "Awful Disclosures: Women's Evidence in the Escaped Nun's Tale"

Work Cited:

Griffin, Susan M. "Awful Disclosures: Women's Evidence in the Escaped Nun's Tale." PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 111.1 (1996): 93-107. JSTOR. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Abstract of Griffin’s Awful Disclosures: Women’s Evidence in the Escaped Nun’s Tale

            Susan Griffin carefully analyzes a variety of escaped convent narratives to build up to her claim that the escaped nun’s tale reveals “the fundamental weakness of the female self on which the future of American Protestantism rests,” and that the woman who writes the tale incriminates herself and her entire gender (105).  Griffin offers a historical background of the genre, and she presents both sides of the dispute regarding whether the narratives were authentic and credible.  She describes the widespread Anti-Catholicism during the antebellum period, which contributed to the popularity of Reed’s and Monk’s narratives at the time they were published.  She also explains how the narratives were instruments of a larger ongoing religious debate (96).  Furthermore, Reed’s and Monk’s stories follow a “set fictional precedent,” and she explains that Reed presents a more believable argument than Monk.  Monk’s credibility was later questioned after two searches of the convent, which revealed that her drawings and descriptions of the convent did not match its actual appearance.  Griffin carefully explains methods the writers and their publishers utilized to gain credibility, such as including introductions by men assuring the public of the women’s noble motives for publication (a warning to other young women) and scholarly footnotes, cross-references, appendixes, maps, and diagrams.  The narratives often refer to ostensible evidence, such as letters, that purportedly could not be presented because they contained inappropriate language or were stolen.

After laying a historical foundation and describing the common elements of escape convent narratives, Griffin begins to set up her argument.  She explains that the publishers and writers present the female as innocent and naïve, deceived by the priests and nuns.  She gives numerous examples from the narratives of the heroine fainting when faced with rape or disturbing incidents in the convent.  One ex-nun describes a scene in which she reveals that the priest raises poisonous herbs for murderous purposes, but she says that “she ‘did not know what to make of’” his actions, thus pleading ignorant and naïve to the situation.  Griffin asserts that the women did this as a defense mechanism, as the readers would otherwise label them as unreliable (since they gave their oaths to the convent and then backed out).  Another nun even claims that she was unconscious during her vows and the nuns took her silence as consent. Therefore, the women and their publishers aim to convince Protestant readers that the women preserved their integrity, even though they temporarily joined the Catholic Church (102).

From there, Griffin explains that these tales are stories of spiritual seduction used to define and control women’s religion.  Upon critical reading, these narratives “illustrate the young women’s incapacity to be trusted:  her testimony is essential to unveiling the truth, but it also proves her vulnerability and fallibility” since the testimony of a woman cannot stand on its own as evidence (104).  It must be supported with some sort of apparent proof.  Thus the publishers must assert control and “support” the women’s stories, much like the Catholic Church is presented as a tool to control young women.  This is where she inserts her thesis statement that focuses on the weak portrayal of females.  She asserts that by writing their stories, these escaped nuns are incriminating themselves and their sex.

I believe that Griffin approaches the topic persuasively. Instead of presenting her thesis statement in the beginning, she builds up to it. She begins by laying out the historical scene—the extreme Anti-Catholic view of many Protestants, the popularity of the escaped convent narratives, the dispute over the authenticity of the stories, the elements of the genre, the focus on women’s spirituality during that time, etc.  Then she constructs her argument by using case studies of various escape convent narratives, especially Monk’s, Reed’s, and Rosamond’s.  She occasionally refers to several parodies written to refute these women’s stories.  She supports all of her ideas with careful examples from the texts and she unpacks her argument thoroughly and carefully.  I found the “build up to a thesis” approach very effective in this case.  I honestly did not see many gaps in her argument.  If I were to make a suggestion, I would ask Griffin to address the fact that women, although they had to “incriminate themselves,” achieved publication during a time when female publication was a difficult accomplishment.  I would be interested to see if and how Griffin would refute that this minimizes their weak portrayal.  Although they had to endure public scrutiny, wouldn’t at least some women argue that this self-incrimination was worth the publication—the ability for a woman’s voice to live beyond her grave?  Other than this point, I felt that Griffin’s essay was informative and persuasive.

Furthermore, I intend to refer to the historical information in my paper.  Many of my historical questions are answered in the beginning of this article.  It presents an overview that draws from a wealth of sources, 66 to be exact, some of which I am adding to my preliminary bibliography today.  The article also points me in the direction of a claim for my paper.  While it is not a definitive claim yet, I am inspired to explore the theme of manipulation in Reed’s narrative.  I would like to observe how Protestant male publishers manipulate Reed, the publisher’s introduction manipulates the reader, nuns and priests manipulate Reed, and Reed manipulates the reader.  Griffin also gave me the idea to use the theory of masquerade in my essay.  Does Reed use her femininity as Griffin suggests?  Does she plead innocence in hope that the reader will excuse her decision to join the convent?  Does she use her femininity as a manipulation tool?  Does she remove her femininity and put it back on when convenient?  I will examine the text and my secondary sources more carefully to see if this question can be answered.  Therefore, I found this article very important.  Griffin’s argument planted a seed in my mind, one that I hope will only grow as I read more articles.  This article would definitely benefit my classmate Lesley too, as she is reading Monk’s Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery of Montreal, another popular escape convent narrative.  Overall, I sense that I am a step closer to my final product. 

Library of Congress Subject Headings: Online Weekly Updates

For all of you researchers out there who have grown to appreciate the LCSH, here is an online weekly update of headings that change:  http://www.loc.gov/aba/cataloging/subject/weeklylists/

Furthermore, if you ever come across a subject heading that you think should be altered, omitted, or added, you can submit a proposal through the Subject Authority Cooperative Organization (SACO).

Preliminary Bibliography

  

Keywords*: 

  Rebecca Reed, captivity, nun, convent, convent riot, anti-Catholicism, Puritan women

*See previous blog post for a detailed listing of subject headings

Preliminary Bibliography

Bisson, Wilfred Joseph. "Some Conditions for Collective Violence: The Charlestown Convent Riot of 1834." 1974. America: History and Life. Web. 20 September 2010.

Blair, Jennifer. "The Knowledge of 'Sex' and the Lattice of the Confessional: The Nun's Tales and Early North American Popular Discourse." ReCalling Early Canada: Reading the Political in Literary and Cultural Production. Ed. Carole Gerson. Edmonton, AB: U of Alberta P, 2005. 173-210. America: History and Life. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Cohen, Daniel A. "Miss Reed and the Superiors: The Contradictions of Convent Life in Antebellum America." Journal of Social History 30.1 (1996): 149. America:  History and Life. Web. 19 Sept. 2010.

---. "Passing the Torch." Journal of the Early Republic 24.4 (2004): 527-86. America: History and Life. Web. 19 Sept. 2010.

"Destroyed Convent, The." United States Catholic Miscellany (1822-1835) 14.46 (1835): 362. Web.

Fessenden, Tracy. "The Convent, the Brothel, and the Protestant Woman's Sphere." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society 25.2 (2000): 451. JSTOR. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Frink, Sandra. "Women, the Family, and the Fate of the Nation in American Anti-Catholic Narratives, 1830-1860." Journal of the History of Sexuality 18.2 (2009): 237-64. America: History and Life. Web. 23 Sept. 2010.

Griffin, Susan M. "Awful Disclosures: Women's Evidence in the Escaped Nun's Tale." PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 111.1 (1996): 93-107. JSTOR. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Hollingsworth, Gerelyn. Ex-Nuns: Women Who Have Left the Convent. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1985. Print.

Kenneally, James J. "The Burning of the Ursuline Convent: A Different View." Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia 90.1 (1979): 15-22. America: History and Life. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

"Libellous! Libellous!!" Zion's Herald (1823-1841) 6.13 (1835): 50. American Periodicals. Web. 11 Sept. 2010.

McCarthy, Maureen A. "The Rescue of True Womanhood: Convents and Anti-Catholicism in 1830s America." Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 57.11 (1997): 4899. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 21 Sept. 2010.

Morgan, Michelle. "‘We've Spoiled Your Prison for You’: Gender & Anti-Catholicism in Early 19th-Century Convent Captivity Narratives." New England Journal of History 65.1 (2008): 56-78. America: History and Life. Web. 19 Sept. 2010.

"Obituary." The Religious Intelligencer ...Containing the Principal Transactions of the Various Bible and Missionary Societies, with Particular Accounts of Revivals of Religion (1816-1837) 6.44 (1822): 703. American Periodicals. Web. 11 Sept. 2010.

Reed, Rebecca Theresa b. ca, Maria d. Monk, and Nancy Lusignan Schultz. Veil of Fear: Nineteenth-Century Convent Tales by Rebecca Reed and Maria Monk. West Lafayette, Ind.: NotaBell Books, 1999.  Print.

Regan, John J. "Runaway Nuns, Runaway Bestsellers: Representations of Gender and Class in Antebellum Convent Captivity Narratives and Fictions." Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 60.9 (2000): 3366. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 20 Sept. 2010.

Schultz, Nancy Lusignan. "'A Severe and Proud Dame She Was': Weetamoo and the Mother Superior as Female Antagonists in Captivity Narratives by Mary Rowlandson and Rebecca Reed." Literary Calvinism and Nineteenth-Century American Women Authors. Ed. Michael Schuldiner. Lewiston, NY: Mellen, 1997. 71-99. MLA International Bibliography. Web.  23 September 2010.

Shoemaker, Richard H., et al. A Checklist of American Imprints. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1964. Print.

"Six Months in a Convent; Extracts." Christian Secretary (1822-1889) 14.12 (1835): 47. American Periodicals. Web. 11 Sept. 2010.

"Six Months in a Covent." Episcopal Recorder (1831-1851) 13.2 (1835): 7. American Periodicals. Web. 11 Sept. 2010.

Taves, Ann. "Self and God in the Early Published Memoirs of New England Women." American Women's Autobiography: Fea(s)ts of Memory. Ed. Margo Culley. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1992. 57-74. MLA International Bibliography. Web.  20 Sept. 2010.

I WANT TO HUG THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS BOOK!

...but I probably won't due to all the germs it probably carries.  Anyway, The Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCHS), helped me gather a wealth of sources.  For me, gathering sources is intimidating.  First, I'm never quite sure of what to look for.  Before consulting the LCHS, here was my inner dialog:

"Rebecca Reed...that's my topic.  I'll just type that in everywhere--google scholar, the library card catalog, various databases.  What if I don't find enough sources?  What if I gather all of the wrong sources?  What if all my sources are books and I cannot find them and I wander around the library until it closes without me finding anything.  RESEARCH LIBRARIANS.  Yes, I should consult with one.  They are so helpful.  What did Craft of Research (Booth et al) say about gathering sources?  Maybe I should stand up and start so that I don't waste all of this time worrying.  Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives people something to do, but gets us nowhere.  Where did I hear this before?  I digress.  Probably because I don't want to get started."

Then I stood up and I walked over to the librarians to ask them about the LCHS.  They pointed me in the right direction and I got started.  For someone like me, who thinks a mile a minute and worries about the outcome of the task I'm about to begin, I have discovered that it is best to just start.  Once I'm rolling, I'm focused and I tend to relax.  I began looking for Rebecca Reed, but realized that they do not include many names, so I began with "Anti-Catholocism," since this was the heart of the issue in Reed's work, as she exposed the purported corruption of the convent and fueled a long debate between the Protestants and the Catholics.  Below is an outline of headings I found useful for my topic:

• ANTI-CATHOLICISM
• RT:  CATHOLIC CHURCH--CONTROVERSIAL LITERATURE
• ANTI-CATHOLICISM IN LITERATURE
• CONVENTS
• UF:  CLOISTERS (RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES)
• UF:  CONVENTS AND NUNNERIES
• UF:  NUNNERIES
• BT:  RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
• RT:  MONASTICISM AND RELIGIOUS ORDERS FOR WOMEN
• NT:  ABBEYS
• CONVENTS IN LITERATURE
• RIOTS
• BT:  POLITICAL VIOLENCE
• CATHOLIC
• HISTORY
• 18th CENTURY
• 19th CENTURY
• RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
• RT:  RELIGIOUS FACILITIES
• NT:  CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS
• NT:  CONVENTS
• PURITAN WOMEN
• BT:  CHRISTIAN WOMEN
• PURITANS
• NEW ENGLAND
• MASSACHUSETTS

Key

BT=Broader Term

NT=Narrower Term

RT=Related Term

UF=Used For

The moral of my story is:

1. Don't let research overwhelm you.  There are resources in the library to help (such as research librarians!).
2. Consult the LCSH list before going on a google rampage; it will prove more helpful.

A Rhetorical Analysis of the Introduction

Rhetorical Analysis of Six Months in a Convent:  “Introduction”

            The audience of Rebecca Reed’s narrative would have been the educated public, especially those involved in the Catholic or the Protestant Church, since her story explores her conversion from Catholic to Episcopalian and threatens to reveal dark secrets of the convent.  However, the introduction, written by the committee of publication, serves to capture her voice and bring male authority to the story.  Implicitly, the author uses Reed as a vehicle to express negative opinions of the Catholic Church and defend the Protestant religion.  While attempting to appeal to the reader’s emotions and logic, the introduction to Rebecca Reed’s Six Months in a Convent reveals conflicting motives and questionable authorship, possibly tainting the ethical appeal of the novel.

        The introduction is claimed to be “some preliminary suggestions by the committee of publication” (1).   Not uncommon to the time, a man precedes the story of a female to defend her character and authenticity.  First, the speaker compares Reed to a prominent male religious figure, Martin Luther, probably in an attempt to gain authority for Reed. By drawing parallels between Reed and Luther’s writing, Reed’s story gains more credibility, due to Luther’s gender and the fact that his writings had power and a great following (after all, they led to the Reformation). Along similar lines, the author prints a list of testimonies from well-known men in the community who attest to Reed’s “unexceptionable morals” and integrity, along with names of men and women from surrounding towns who also confirm Reed’s character (41).  The author suggests the readers can trust Reed as a credible source in her narrative.  Furthermore, the speaker attempts to defend Reed’s integrity and credibility by appealing to the reader’s emotions.  At one point he reminds the readers that Reed is “an orphan” (31), and quotes Reed’s self description of “defenceless female innocence” (30).  One should note that Reed’s words are still a degree removed from the reader in the introduction, because they are in a letter that is inserted into the man’s discourse. The author carefully works to strip away the validity of Judge Fay’s assertion that Reed caused the Ursuline Convent riots by revealing places where Fay had misquoted her (30-31).  Quickly the story becomes one man’s version of Reed’s words against another man’s account of her words…Reed’s own voice still has not been directly presented.

            Moreover, the letter from Judge Fay that is interpolated in the introduction (which the author attempts to refute) alludes that Reed’s words “may undergo considerable pruning and purgation to suit the views of the publisher” (26).  While Rebecca’s letter states that her words will not be altered, Fay’s accusation does raise the question, is there a male ghostwriter involved in telling Reed’s tale?  While the speaker claims to be defending Reed because she is an upstanding lady who does not deserve to be blamed for a horrible crime, implicit motives seem to surface when he suggests that accusing Reed with the destruction of a convent “requires a credulity not surpassed by that which enables a devout Catholic actually to believe in the identical transubstantiation of a wafer into the flesh of the Savior!” (28), thus belittling a fundamental belief of Catholicism—their communion practices.  This leads up to a section that questions the motives of Catholic schools and practices, during which he neglects to reference Reed for six pages (when his purported purpose is to defend her).  Thus his authority is shaky—what is his true motive for defending Reed?  Furthermore, the authority of Reed’s narrative is called to question before it even begins:  will it really be her voice?  Or do the publishers alter her voice?

            As Reed’s story opens, she begins to tell her story from the beginning.  Despite possible contortion from a male ghostwriter, Reed’s words manage to adopt an innocent tone, and she pleads ignorance (59).  She appeals to the reader’s emotions as she describes the ways in which the nuns ostensibly manipulated her.  Upon learning that she was contemplating a conversion to Catholicism, they would embrace her “in the most affectionate manner” (62), give her books that presented Catholicism as the “only one and true religion” (61), and even comment on the delicacy of her hand, comparing it to a pancake (55).  Looking back, Reed explains in a footnote that this type of flattery was meant to “draw the inexperienced into their power, and make them converts to the religion of the Pope” (55).

            Therefore, the front materials of Six Months in a Convent establish a conflicting message.  The male speaker in the introduction presents language that appeals to emotions, logic, and ethics, but he does so in a manner that subjects the reliability of his motives to question (and thus the motives of Reed, with whom his identity is now intertwined).  He uses Reed’s story to expose the Catholic Church as a mysterious institution that unlawfully transcends human authority.  While he originally portrayed himself to the readers as a noble man attempting to defend an innocent lady, his motives shift and leave the reader with a clashing sense of purpose for Reed’s narrative.  Is it to defend the name of a girl unjustly committed of a crime, or to slander the Catholics?

Digging Into the Past

Information At a Glance

ORIGINAL TITLE OF WORK:

Reed, Rebecca Theresa.  Six Months in a Convent; or the Narrative of Rebecca Theresa Reed, who was under the influence of the Roman Catholics about two years, and an inmate of the Ursuline convent on Mount Benedict, Charlestown, Mass. Nearly Six Months, in the Years 1831-2.  With Some Preliminary Suggestions by the Committee of Publication. Boston:  Russel, Odiorne, and Metcalf, 1835.  Print.

MOST MODERN EDITION:

Reed, Rebecca Theresa.  Six Months in a Convent, or, the Narrative of Rebecca Theresa Reed, Who Was Under the Influence of the Roman Catholics about two years, and an Inmate.  Charleston:  BiblioLife, LLC, 2010. Print.

Archival Research

Q:  When, where, and by whom was the text first printed?

A:  Six Months in a Convent was first printed in 1835 in Boston by Russell, Odiorne, and Metcalf.

NOTE:  The National Union Catalog of Pre-1956 Imprints lists another edition of the novel published in the same year in Glawglow by a company called “J. Robertson.”  However, no other information is given and it is not shown in any of my other sources.

The original copy was published in Boston, where Rebecca Reed lived.  The printer seemed to publish stories and autobiographies of people’s lives.

Q:  How often was the text reprinted?

A: Reprints:

1.     ca. 1836 in Philadelphia by T.B. Peterson

2.     1852 in London by the Booksellers

3.     1865  in London.by Halifax, Milner, and Sowerby

4.     1893 in Boston by American Citizen Co.

5.     1977 in North Stratford, NH, by Ayer Company Publishers, Incorporated

6.     1977 in New York by Amo Press

7.     1999 in West Lafayette, IN by Purdue University Press (published in book Veil of Fear: nineteenth-century convent tales by Rebecca Reed and Maria Monk).

8.     2008 in Whitefish, MT, by Kessinger Publishing, LLC

9.     2009 by Books LLC (location not listed)

The book seems to have gained popularity through time.  This could be due to several factors.  Perhaps more publishing companies find value in recovering old texts.  Also, in recent decades, feminist scholars are recovering many texts by women. Furthermore, printing and publishing are much easier and more cost efficient.  The text was popular during its time because it questioned the Catholic Church and its motives.  It sparked curiosity from people in many different religions, but it especially appealed to the Protestant religion, because they tended to view Catholicism (and their convents) as mysterious, secretive, and seemingly above the law.  They wanted reason to put down the Catholic Church and question its validity.

Q:  What is the actual size of the text?  What information is available regarding its physical presence, binding, etc.?  Was it expensive or inexpensive?

A:  14 cm, according to the Library of Congress Online.  It was bound in decorative cloth.  The price is not listed in my sources (if it is addressed, it is labeled as “N/A”).

The small size suggests that it was pleasing to the eye.  It was not bulky…in fact, it seems that is was dainty.  It was probably easy to transport and to “show off.”  After all, books were a status symbol. They were not mass-produced and were not readily available to everyone—thus they were a privilege to own.  (There were no Kindles or Nooks in the nineteenth century!).  The first copies were sold for fifty cents each.

Q:  What is included on the original title page?

A:  As one can see, the title page lists locations that sell the book.  Another interesting feature are the notes written on this page.  While the writing is hard to decipher in some areas, I get the sense that someone was trying to decide where to file this book, perhaps at the Dept. of State.

Because it lists where the books were sold, the title page reflects the fact that books were harder to access in the 1800s.

Q:  Describe the frontispiece, engravings, preface, dedication, etc.

A:  Description:

·      Frontispiece:  not present

·      Engravings:  the cover is emerald-colored cloth with circular designs raised in it

·       Preface:  nothing called “Preface” but there is a section called “Preliminary Suggestions…”

·       Dedication:  no dedication, but it does announce:  “ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN 1835, BY RUSSELL, ODIORNE AND METCALF, IN THE CLERK’S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS.”  And it also says, “Stereotyped by Shepard, Oliver & Co.”

In another digitalized version of this book (1835), 

I found this page with a hand-written message.

The cover was very decorative, again a sign of how valuable and rare books were.  It is also a sign of status.  People who could afford books would probably prefer a fancy, showy cover to put on display.  Not everyone could own one, and because they were not mass-produced to the extent that books are today, special detail could be paid to the cover.  Perhaps mass-production is the reason why our covers are not as elaborate; it would slow the process and make them more expensive in modern day. Furthermore, the message written in this particular book suggests that this was given as a gift to someone by her cousin.  It says "her" (it was given to a female).  Perhaps I'm making too much of a leap here, but maybe this book appealed to the buyer because it was written by a woman.

Q:  How long is the text?  Is it broken into volumes and chapters?  If so, how many?  Is the print large and easy to read, or dense with many words on each page and lines close together?

A: The text is 192 pages, one volume, and is “one big chunk” (unless you count the “Preliminary Suggestions for Candid Readers”, “Introduction,” and “Letter to Irish Catholics” as separate chapters, but they are not labeled as such).  The writing is of a medium size and is easy to read (definitely nothing obscure like the ‘S’s in Winthrop’s short story!).

The print varies from two centuries earlier when the writing was very different in form and the “S”s looked like “f”s.  (Refer to writings from the Documentation of Anne Hutchinson’s Court Case).  There are not as many imperfections in the text as I have seen in books from previous centuries, but the text could be straighter.  There are a few ink splotches, but the imperfections are not as easily detected.

Q:  What back matter exists?

A:  There is not much back matter.  The word “finis” is not present, and there is no list of subscribers or other works from the printer, but Reed does end the book with a letter to the Irish Catholics.

Perhaps the lack of back matter suggests that the printer was not a widely known or widely used one.

Q:  Given all of the above, how does this affect my creation of this blog?

A:  I decided to include the pdf images of the cover and title page, because these are particularly interesting.  The cover is much more ornamented than today’s books, and the title page reminds me that books were not as readily available (especially not books by women, let alone books by women questioning power or societal figures) during the 1800s.  The title page was able to tell the reader where the book was sold.  Today, books are sold all over the country and so it would not be realistic to list every store that sells the book.

Sources Referenced:

Library of Congress Online

Books in Print Online Database

World Cat Online Database

Google Books Online

The National Union Catalog of Pre-1956 Imprints