To Judge Her Guilt or Innocence
Posted: Friday, October 07, 2011
by Michael Eza
During the eighteenth century the roles which society expected women to fulfill were far different from what they are today. From the works of “Some Account of the Fore Part of The Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge” by Elizabeth Ashbridge and “The Speech of Polly Baker” by Benjamin Franklin we can see that women were expected to be subservient, respectful and agreeable to and with men. Beyond that women were also expected to be the main and sometimes sole provider of children and if the child is had out of wedlock (which was illegal at the time) then it was considered by law the women’s responsibility to pay for the crime committed. At this time in society women needed permission from a man, typically the husband, but in the absence of such a local parishioner might do, to make almost any kind of decision including purchasing property or taking long trips. Women were even restricted from participating in many activities of the church, which men were allowed, such as preaching. The Quakers were more enlightened in respect to this and did let women preach. It may be because of revolutionary ideas like holding women to be equal in more ways than most other religions of the time that caused writings, which are pro-feminine to have been written by Ashbridge or Franklin.
Franklin uses “The Speech of Polly Baker” to convey a similar sort of message about the roles of men and women in society, but instead of abuse he focuses on the legal system to illustrate how women were being economically and socially wronged by crimes, which were for the most part committed by men. As an example, the protagonist Polly states , “But, can ever this be a Fault of mine (848)?” In Franklin’s writing the reader is shown not only the subservient position of the woman at this time, but also the apathetic position men typically take to the position women hold. As an example Polly points out how one of the men who had impregnated her is also a member of the Magistrate, which was to judge her guilt or innocence.
Both of these writings illustrate the social stigma of the woman’s subservient position in the eighteenth century and in both the author is using religion as reasoning for why society should changes its ways. In Ashbridge’s work religion is a catalyst for Elizabeth to do things differently and she illustrates through her work that it was her love for God and duty to the cause of God which makes her defy her husband and go her own way even to the point of driving her husband off. Franklin uses religion to illustrate how the laws of society were governing morals, not social deviance. Furthermore, he points out that the current way things were operating was actually inhibiting the growth of society. Both of these authors opposed the position women held during the eighteenth century and these show how they attempted to alter the perception of their readers by shedding new light on religion and the position women held in the eyes of men.
In “Some Account of the Fore Part of the Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge” , Ashbridge has two themes running through her story, which help the reader understand her reaction to the expectations of eighteenth century society. These themes are conversion to the Quaker religion and the oppressive nature of men and the world. The very first thing Ashbridge tells her readers in this account is that before she could begin she needed to be granted permission from two men, her husband and her Priest. Originally Elizabeth is fond of her life and doesn’t see a problem with her status or the way she is typically treated, but after having learned more about her Quaker relatives she begins to revere them and becomes one of them. At this point Ashbridge begins to demonstrate the brutal nature of men focusing on her husband. As soon as he finds out about Elizabeth’s conversion he is furious and states, “you had better be hanged in that Day (705).” He continues his contempt for her religion by eventually forcing her to dance with him by pulling her around like a mannequin and by threatening so much as permanently disabling her if she chooses to go to her meeting. At one point while her husband is attempting to convert her back to the Presbyterian faith she agrees to listen, observe and participate, but is eventually again taken aback after seeing how most of the parishioners and clergy were more concerned with money than with God. All of these happenings make her more devoted to the Quaker cause and eventually this devotion is properly communicated to her husband, at which point even he changes his opinion and agrees that she is doing the right thing.
Ashbridge uses this story to react to a chauvinistic male society. In reacting to this society she expresses how she and her husband changed because they believe in the Quaker’s interpretation of God. Elizabeth changes from a naive and obedient woman to an enlightened woman who is first obedient to God and then to her husband. Her husband changed from a man who shunned Quaker society to one who has embraced their ways so much that he cannot bring himself to fight or attempt to kill the enemy in the Cuban military. Ashbridge uses a short anecdote about herself and her husband to express how humans, men and women, can change over time and that this change should be in the favor of women, even if it is only allowing them to have the freedom of choosing for themselves the religion the y wish to ascribe to.
In “The Speech of Polly Baker” Franklin like Ashbridge is speaking out against the status of women during the eighteenth century by using two themes. The first is that Polly’s crimes are religious not criminal and the second is that her crimes are caused for the most part by the oppression of women by men. It is clear through the speech that Franklin believes the judicial system which women are prosecuted under is flawed and that men are causing more problems by their actions and habits than women are. Franklin states in his essay “That I think this Law, by which I am punished, is both unreasonable in itself, and particularly severe with regard to me (848).” Franklin goes so far as to make a case against “the great and growing number of batchelors in the country (849)”, and by doing so he is logically presenting the argument of whether the person who is bringing more people into the world should be punished or the person who is not.
Franklin’s argument is clearly against the current views and conceptions of the society he was a part of, but because the issue was so controversial in nature he actually had to use this fictional character of Polly Baker to express his true opinion without drawing too much animosity. Franklin reacts to his society by holding his public officials in contempt for the crimes they commit while they hypocritically punish others for the same offenses. Furthermore he feels as many Pro-Choice supporters of the twenty-first century society do, that the business of how a woman procured a child is up to her, not her and the state.
In the eighteenth century a lot of changes were made in government, religion, and the class system. These changes helped women and proponents of equality recognize oppression and eventually this led Elizabeth Ashbridge to believe she should have a right to choose who and how she wants to worship and Benjamin Franklin to believe women should not be prosecuted for a moral crime; especially one in which the male was considered to have no part in committing crime even though they were a part of the transgression and most likely the perpetrator. Their writings demonstrate key movements developing in society. A reader of these works during the eighteenth century would have been influenced to both recognize that the status of women and men was not only different, but also unfair and that men although the current rulers of society have been using their abilities for malevolent purposes, which prevent women from receiving justice or equal opportunities. Both authors use their writing to open new doors for women and shed light on the oppression, which society is imposing on half of its good-natured and hard working population.
Works Cited
Lauter, Peter et al. The Heath Anthology of American Literature 6th ed. Boston, MA. Wadsworth. 2009. Print.
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