Woman as the Slave to Man in Desmond

As we briefly touched upon last class, the way that women are treated in Desmond is very strange and very unique to the text.  Charlotte Smith, writing from the perspective of the male, addresses the underlying concerns regarding women's rights at the time in a very indirect manner. In comparison to Wollstonecraft's work, Smith's text is much less radical when it comes to advocating for the change in the social structure surrounding marriage rights for women during the latter 18th century. However, Smith's narrative is also very affective in demonstrating the inequalities and double standards of the time.

Kari Lokke's article that we will read for Thursday perfectly summarizes the general idea behind Smith's portrayal of women in marriage, stating, "The sexual/ economic matrimonial contract only works to the woman's detriment" (66). Though most of us haven't yet read Lokke's article yet, I couldn't help but relate it to our conversation that we had last class. With Wollstonecraft, she was clear and concise as to what injustices she felt that women faced in the home, in marriage, and in society as a whole. Smith, however, is much more covert with the assertions she is making about the way women are treated, if she is trying to make a point at all.

Women in Desmond are treated much like slaves in matrimony. They lose their rights, are subject to abuse, and, eventually, even sold. As we read on in the chapters, we once again see through the letters that Desmond is still obsessed with Geraldine and freeing her of her abusive and economically problematic marriage. Bethel, however, discourages him once again from pursuing this, saying, "I am very sorry for Mrs. Verney; but I have long foreseen this - She will, undoubtedly have too much firmness of the mind, and attention to the interest of her children to give up her settlement" (124). The word settlement here is what really irked me. Marriage was an arrangement that women aspired to have, yet once they were married, the arrangement was no longer beneficial to her.

Desmond, then, becomes a victim of passion, and interprets the feeling as love. But as Wollstonecraft points out, passion is not lasting and not sustainable. However, Desmond describes his passions as "pure and holy" when discussing Geraldine (134). How can his intentions be pure and holy if the woman is married? Is it because he feels as though he is relieving her? Throughout the epistle, Desmond uses this type of language to describe both his relationships with Geraldine and Josephine, both married men. He also is constantly speaking of the equality that France is pushing towards that England should adopt. I find this interesting and in relation to one another.

I believe Smith chooses to write not only the story of a young man's exploration of the liberation of the French from an oppression culture, but also a story of the folly of love and marriage, because in her eyes, both the social structure of Britain and the marriage laws were in desperate need of reform. The epistle jumps form story to story - Desmond experiencing the benefits that the French Revolution had and wishing for England to adopt these tenets, and his wishing to free these women in pre-determined marriages from their oppressive and abusive relationship. As I previously stated, Smith characterizes the women as slaves who are blind to their own situation. Their refusal to give up the social status that comes with marriage is not unlike how Desmond feels towards the British. Similar to how he feels about Geraldine and Josephine's marriages, he believes that the British should give up their classes and the non-sensical structure for a more mutually beneficial societal structure, much like the French.

Here is an article from JSTOR (you may have to log in through the library to view it) that discusses the affect that the French Revolution had on marriage rights for women, divorce laws, and custody. Jump to page 749.

Discussion Questions:

1. How do the two different presentations of marriage inequality for women by Smith and Wollstonecraft have different effects? Which approach do you think is more affective in shedding light on the problem? Why do the approaches differ so much?

2. How does Smith tie her two stories together? What points are both the story of unrequited love and a the changing socioeconomic climate in France making collectively? Are they even tied together at all? Why does she go about writing the stories this way?