Her letters provide a solid beginning to the course. She shares her first-hand experience, providing the eye-witness account that can and did unlock the understanding of readers for future generations. When reading history, often times we can remain disconnected and never fully grasp the humanity and relevance of all those living during this revolution.
One would find a sense of insecurity or fear in such trying times completely reasonable. Williams is surprisingly upbeat, finding the silver lining in the midst of turmoil. In the opening of her letter, Helena seems to feel thankful that she gets to witness history in the making, as she calls it, "the most sublime spectacle". (37)
Her attitude is surprising, but also admirable. Honestly, I do not believe that most of us would respond to our society crumbling with such a positive spirit. The only comparison that I can make is to the terrible twin towers and pentagon attack. I will be the first to admit that I did not think on September 11th, "Well this stinks, but at least I'm witnessing history." Williams was thinking in a realm beyond herself and momentary troubles. I suppose her focus on the future could be attributed as romanticism.
Most saddening quote (44)--"...fanatical and discontented clergy which swarmed about his palace; by non-juring bishops and archbishops; men who, having lost their wealth and their influence by the revolution, prompted the king to run all risks in order to gratify their own resentment." Position and money > human life
Despite her upbeat attitude, she is honest about that gravity of the situation. "One must have been present, to form any judgment of a scene, the sublimity of which depended much less on its external magnificence than on the effect it produced on the minds of the spectators." (37) Her descriptions of the federation are beautifully scripted, leaving the reader with a mental picture and hanging upon her every word. She talks a good bit about unity and the concept of democracy. Unity developed by adherence to a common cause is her focus.
My favorite passage (39)--"Sterne says, that a man is incapable of loving one woman as he ought, who has not a sort of an affection for the whole sex; and as little should I look for particular sympathy from those who have no feelings of general philanthropy. If the splendour of a despotic throne can only shine like the radiance of lightning, while all around is involved in gloom and horror, in the name of heaven let its baleful lustre be extinguished for ever. May no such strong contrast of light and shade again exist in the political system of France! but may the beams of liberty, like the beams of day, shed their benign influence on the cottage of the peasant, as well as on the palace of the monarch."
Williams clearly is idealistic and desires a unification that goes beyond societal rankings. Welcome, Helena, to the Romanticism club.
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2 comments:
Meredith,
There are several very good aspects of your first blog post. You quote numerous specific passages of Williams's text, rather than merely paraphrasing her. Also, you focus on a single author, and don't try to generalize about all the commentators on the French Revolution.
There are also some aspects you can improve, however, in subsequent posts. I would suggest quoting fewer passages, and analyzing them in much greater depth. A good rule of thumb is that your comment on a quotation ought to be at least as long as the quotation itself. In this post you have numerous multi-line quotations with single-line comments. Also, try to write so your reader will understand you better; in your comment on Williams's comment on the clergy, your comment is reduced to a quasi-mathematical formula. I would much rather see a developed discussion!
This is not a bad post for your first attempt, though, and I look forward to your subsequent observations.
I wanted to share that I also enjoyed the last quotation from Sterne that you included in your blog. This quotation contains a great deal of knowledge that was not only applicable during the French Revolution, but is also applicable today. It is interesting to think what world leaders today would say if someone said, "...may the beams of liberty, like the beams of day, shed their benign influence on the cottage of the peasant, as well as on the palace of the monarch." Do you think that the political leaders of today fight passionately for values such of this? If Sterne thought it was necessary to make this kind of statement so many years ago, how do you think he would feel about society today?
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