I don't think we talked a lot about this article in class and after rereading it, I have some thoughts about, surprise surprise!, religion!
What does the voice of the housemaid mean when she says, out of frustration, "I wish I never been baptized at all?" I think it suggests that her belief in God is what forces her to continually be of service, to hold tightly to loyalty, much like Tom's religion did for him in Uncle Tom's Cabin. There seems to be a theme in Fanny's writing, both in Ruth Hall and a few other articles, that suggest her distaste for religion. I think Fanny empathizes with the housemaid and her resentment toward God because it so closely resembles the patriarchal system Fanny lives under and tries to resist while simultaneously working within the system, trying to beat it with its own weapons, so to speak.
To further back up my belief that Fanny doesn't like religion is a scene in Ruth Hall I'm too lazy to look up in order to cite in which Ruth reflects on how religion must not be all that great if her parents are supposedly abiding by it and yet cruelly and evilly taking Katy away from her.
I had a similar reaction when I read "Soliloquy of a Housemaid." At first, I thought that "baptized" was just a fancier metaphor for being "
ReplyDeleteborn." But then, Fern actually uses the word born. I agree with your reasoning. Fern does show some distaste for religion in Ruth Hall (I still can't find the italics button). Your last paragraph reminds me of an argument in Uncle Tom's Cabin: How can one be a Christian, yet still abuse their slaves?
I don't see the religion aspect in this at all. When she says, "I wish I had never been baptized at all," it was directly after everyone in the house was calling her "Christian" name. She just meant she wished she didn't have a name so that people wouldn't always be calling her.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that there's a religious aspect to "Soliloquy of a Housemaid." She complains that she hasn't been to church in so long because she is always so busy tending to the house. She also expresses the sort of sorry state her soul is in because she hasn't listened to a sermon in so long.
ReplyDeleteI think you are onto something, Katy, and that Fern does have a dislike for lots of organized religion. Yes, Stephanie is also right that it has to do with her name (what she's baptized as), but there are enough cases like this to warrant further investigation!
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