Hidde Voi es: Wo e W ite ’s of the Celti Re aissa e Speaker: Geraldine Rossiter March, 2012 In a recent article published in the Globe and Mail, John Barber questions why the female author of the 21st century still fails to receive the respect and critical acclaim of her male peers. He notes that despite the overwhelming number of published female authors, the bastions of literary criticism; Ha pe ’s Magazine, the Times Literary Supplement and the New Republic, consistently favor male authors to the ratio of 3:1 in their reviews. He further elucidates that male disregard of female authors is as deeply ingrained now as it was over 100 years ago, with such literary giants as V. S. Naipaul dismissing female writing as se ti e tal a d u e ual to attributed to the fact that o e ’s 19th century, o e e e. R1 iti g has de eloped f o This centuries old issue can be su e si e egi a ed the o el as a li e ati g fo e, a i gs. As late as the ea s to es ape the suffo ati g atmosphere of their domestic space, in which all modes of self-expression were ruthlessly suppressed. (R18) As a result many early female works explored themes of unconventional female behavior, which diverted significantly from mainstream male subject matter. The authors examined in this study certainly exhibit these patterns of behavior. They have been almost universally forgotten, their works tossed aside because their sex, politics, cultural affiliations or sexual orientation did not conform to the accepted standards of their time, or to those of the literary canon. Ironically, they were all extremely popular authors during their own lifetimes, so popular in fact that their novels and plays were conside ed est selle s, ofte ep i ted as a result of the demand they generated. Born in the late 19th century, Emily Lawless, Augusta Gregory, and Eva Gore-Booth were ground breakers; some might even call them rebels, who seized the opportunity to live life on their own terms and to share those terms with the world around them. They understood that in order to survive in a Geraldine Rossiter 2 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance literary and political world dominated by men, they needed to challenge the rules, even break them if they could. Despite their individual successes, they recognized the paucity of literary heroines who could challenge the status quo and effect change, despite the overwhelming obstacles in their path. To this end, each created a heroine who attempted such a feat. The three female protagonists that we will meet in this study are Grania, a native of the Arran Islands who struggles to balance her need for independence with her need for love; Gormleith, the High Queen of Ireland, married to Brian Boru and maligned by male history as a traitor; and Deirdre, pursued and betrayed by King Conor. As each heroine struggles through her own individual journey, she is continually foiled by the men in whom she places her trust, love or loyalty. Her female perspective does not and cannot comprehend the vast distance between the rules of behavior for men versus women. The importunate tension between the two modes of behavior is the root of the tragedy or betrayal that unfolds in each of these stories. Despite seemingly similar backgrounds and cultural affiliations, each of these writers exhibited an individuality of style, thematic content and character representation yet, they demonstrated surprising consensus in their indictment of patriarchal society and the oppressive and exclusive nature of cultural nationalism. All of the heroines represented exhibit a desire for female agency and access to the public sphere. In each work, marriage is represented as the primary mode of female oppression and the colonial male as the inheritor and enforcer of the imperial value system. The Church figures predominantly as the nexus of the misogynistic heteropatriarchal value system, intent on retaining power at the expense of its female citizens. The primary male characters are deeply flawed, whether they be the self-absorbed Murdough with his misguided superiority complex, or the vacillating Brian whose submission to the values of the colonizing religion have rendered him apostate to his own culture, or the jealous, possessive and devious Conor who is a personified representation of an imperial society. In each work it is the female characters that represent a modernizing influence, challenging the Geraldine Rossiter 3 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance hegemonic cultural and nationalistic value systems and negotiating an alternate power structure, based on gender equality or mutability. In Ireland After History, David Lloyd argues that most nationalistic movements take place in conjunction with other emancipatory movements. Fin de siècle Ireland was no exception. The process of I ish i depe de e he otes ose out of a oad ideologi al spe t u of politi al a d so ial movements ranging from the racialist nationalism of Arthur Griffith to the republican socialism of James Connolly. (28). Pre-independent Ireland was a virtual melting pot of subversive, revolutionary and modernizing movements all aimed at the destabilization of imperial culture. Not only were these movements publicly embraced, but they were incorporated into the national assertion of anti-imperial discourse. By the time of, or perhaps as a consequence of, the Easter Rising however, the nationalist movement emerged as the predominant and prioritized national objective. From the declaration of independence onward, all other social movements were required to become subservient to the primary national cause. The resultant ideology was a conglomeration of nativist traditions and imperial values, which repudiated the importance of the overwhelming number of social injustices requiring attention such as urban poverty, wage discrimination, unsafe working conditions, and gender equality. Despite a fixation on a cultural ideology routed in an idyllic Celtic past, and an insistence on a mode of government that replicated its imperial predecessor, however, the emergent state could not repress completely those counter-nationalist movements that challenged the state ideology. Instead these movements co-existed within the national discourse in the form of popular culture which continued according to Lloyd its h id a d pa tiall self-transforming, partially subordinated existence in the shado of the state (33). Through the literature of women like Lawless, Gregory and Gore-Booth the hybridization of Irish culture continued, albeit at a significantly moderated pace. These women insisted upon the inclusion of non-represented minorities in the national debate about the future of Ireland, and presented a vision of an alternate and more inclusive national culture. It was the promulgation of this Geraldine Rossiter 4 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance vision that motivated them to explore their ideas and convictions through their written works and expose the intolerance of heterosexist norms of government and social order. The most personal and pervasive of these control mechanisms was the institution of marriage. According to V. Spike Peterson the concept of monogamous heterosexual marriage is a fundamental tenet of the western state. It is designed to ensure that children are reared within a well defined cultural dogma and that the interest of the state remains paramount through the regulating of sexual reproduction. This is most effectively achieved through the institutionalization of the heteropatriarchal family as the primary socio/economic unit. Under these conditions, especially those experiencing insurgent nationalism, women are doubly denied agency, first through their relegation to the private domestic sphere and secondly through the iconography of the woman-as-nation trope. In both instances the o a is ega ded as p ope t . “he is a ’s possessio a d like othe e a li g essels (boats, planes) is valued as a means for achieving male-defined ends:…E luded i te tionally from the public domain, women are not agents in their own right but instruments for the realization of maledefi ed age das 4 . In the story of each of our heroines this interaction is visibly at play. Murdough never questions his right to benefit f o G a ia’s la o o ate ial goods. Despite the fa t that he has e e o e contributed to their communal wealth, he is so secure in his impending position as head of the family, that he is amazed at her reticence to provide him with the funds to pay off his gambling debts. Grania for her part is equally shaken by her own feelings of dissatisfaction and natural instincts that balk against the expected norms of her society. By the end of the novel it is apparent that Grania can never subject herself to the kind of marriage that would virtually enslave her, and so her death is somewhat conveniently staged in order to save her from a more protracted and torturous one. The real tragedy of the story, however, is that she has no recourse to change her society. Lacking the skills and self- Geraldine Rossiter 5 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance awareness to effect a societal change, Grania turns inward, thinking herself ill or queer rather than finding fault with the senseless subjugation of her gender by an unjust society. Gormleith, however exhibits significantly more self-awareness and willingness to challenge the status quo. For her, power is a right, something to be shared equally. Gregory has placed her at the center of sovereignty and she is extremely comfortable in this position. As her son is the child of a Danish king, she is removed from her traditional female role as propagator of the cultural value system, and actually becomes the militant defender of Celtic society. It is with her that Brian consults as he plans his battles and military tactics. “he is the o of attle, the a ie t a goddess ho unhesitatingly challenges those who would seek to diminish her sovereignty. Brian repudiates her claim to joint authority once his throne is secure, much like the Irish nationalists who employed women in the struggle for independence, and then relegated them back to the domestic sphere once the national objective had been accomplished. While Brian needs Gormleith, he is content to give her a measure of power and autonomy; however this is a temporary arrangement and at the earliest possible moment he exchanges allegiances, affiliating himself with the compliant and dependent beggar woman in place of his independent wife. Likewise Deirdre is also empowered to challenge the rule of her imperial king. Refusing to be forced into a marriage she does not desire, Deirdre plans and executes her elopement with Naisi. Her understanding of the rules of patriarchal society far surpasses her contemporaries in that she has lived the double life of man and woman. As an ancient king she ascribed to the values of a heterosexist society and has come back into the world all the wiser for her previous experiences. She cannot be surprised by the machinations of the men around her, because she knows and anticipates their movements and motivations. She, more than any of the other heroines, refuses to be the territory over which men will fight. Unlike Grania who thinks herself ill, or Gormleith who expresses sorrow at ruining Geraldine Rossiter 6 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance her marriage, Deirdre is confidant in the legitimacy of her position, not only in her political opinion but in her religious convictions as well. Religion plays a significant role in each of these works. For Honor the church is a place of refuge, the only career open to women who wish to escape the bonds of marriage. In fact, due to the lack of a priest on the island, Honor has virtually assumed the role of spiritual caretaker for the small island population. Grania conversely rejects the Church viewing it with suspicion and skepticism. For Grania it is yet another means of female subjugation; its priests as oppressive as the rest of the patriarchal society in which she lives. She rages against their authority and more importantly their lack of accountability when wielding it. She recognizes the power of the state in the power of the Church. It is a bastion of heteropatriarchal values, asserting complete control and religious hegemony over the population. The behavior of the clergy mirrors exactly the erratic and self-serving behavior of the colonial master, Mr. Lynch Bodkin. Hell fire and eternal damnation await Grania as she repudiates the doctrine of female submission and sacrifice. Perceiving the aim of the church is to retain power through fear and domination, she subconsciously comprehends that dogma is designed to keep women from resisting their exclusion from public/spiritual life. As a result she is determined not to be taught by any priest or Church. For her, self-determination and the ability to live according to her own value system are worth more than the vague promise of a heavenly afterlife. Gormleith too understands and recognizes the threat of the church, it is a colonizing power, a hegemonic ideology that marginalizes women. If church values were permitted to continue as the cornerstone of nationalist ideology, then Ireland would be forever relegated to the status of an impoverished and backward nation. In his book Building Democracy in Ireland, Jeffrey Prager notes that the cultural nationalist movement in conjunction with the church sought to create a modern Ireland that as to e ele ated as a p e-industrial nation; its identity …to be found in its rural character. The sanctity of the family …to be preserved, [and] the Church … to remain a central social institution second Geraldine Rossiter 7 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance o l to the fa il … (42). Although G ego ’s a ti-clerical stance is couched in insurgent nationalist terminology, it is not a rallying cry for military action but rather an indictment of internal colonialism. The Catholic church was as much an oppressor of freedom and personal liberty as the imperial government. Engaged as it was in the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland, the Catholic church had e te ed i to a a paig to id the atio of its o te po a I ela d th ough the esta lish e t of a atio al s ste patholog a d to e o st u t a e of Catholi edu atio a d la d efo . (43). Essentially Ireland would be ruled not by a misogynistic heteropatriarchal imperial power but by a religious one instead. In Deirdre, Gore-Booth actually genders religion and clearly delineates between a male centered religion bent on domination, conquest and violence and female religion that embraces universal love, acceptance and pacifism. Like many feminists of her time she could not reconcile the tenets of organized Christian religion with her own philosophy of equality, personal liberty and sexual autonomy. Dei d e’s Ma a ánn embraces the principles of theosophy which aimed at the formation of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste o olo (Dixon 3-4). For advocates like Gore-Booth, theosophical principles offered a feminist response to organized Christian religion and enabled her to find spiritual fulfillment in a philosophy that accepted her homosocial lifestyle. When she wrote Deirdre, she had already begun this spiritual journey that would lead her to repudiate all but the most basic elements of Christianity and the colonial dogma that manipulated religious principles in the justification of its policies. For Gore-Booth the conflation of state usurped religious doctrine with military action was nothing less than the utilization of religion as an excuse for violence and domination. For Deirdre the evil wrought in the name of religion could have only one outcome: the demise of mankind. The treatment of sexual stereotyping and gender performance are the most subversive elements in each of these texts and in my opinion, the primary reason for the exclusion of these authors Geraldine Rossiter 8 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance from the traditional canon. An examination of the treatment of these concepts needs to include two perspectives: that of feminism as a social commentary, and the impact of the homosocial lifestyles and values systems of the authors on the characters and gender roles within each work. Groundbreaking lesbian critic, Bonnie Zimmerman, initially identified several literary elements of a lesbian text by observing that within a les ia aestheti the e a e a set of u ial assu ptio s that u de lies i tuall all lesbian criticism. These assu ptio s ai tai that a o a ’s ide tit is ot defi ed o l he relation to a male world and male literary tradition, [but] that powerful bonds between women are a u ial fa to i o e ’s li es, a d that the se ual a d e otio al o ie tation of a woman profoundly affe ts he o s ious ess a d thus he eati it (451-452). Therefore, once a text has been identified as lesbian centered work several thematic elements can typically be observed. These include a critical and political consciousness of heterosexual norms, an attempt at woman-identification, a rhetoric of non-violence, and flexibility in the concept of gender roles. While the first can be equally attributed to feminist criticism, the remaining observations deserve further comment beginning with gender roles. Judith Butler defines gender performance as the effe t of a egulato egi e of ge de diffe e es i hi h ge de s a e di ided a d hie a hized u de constraint. Social constraints, taboos, prohibitions, threats of punishment operate in the ritualized repetition of norms (21). Essentially, gendered behavior is something that is learned from birth and continuously enforced through the lifetime of the individual. Early feminist writing often challenged gender behavior by advocating for female inclusion in the world of men, and by creating characters that efused to a t a o di g to the a epta le odes of Vi to ia so iet . The most radical proof of their emancipation was the creation of woman as a sexual being. Esther Newton notes that for these women se ual f eedo e a e the utti g edge of ode is (564). But in early 20th century Britain external attacks from psychoanalytic experts like Freud, Kraft-Ebbing and Ellis, caused a split in the feminist movement that began to divide it along heterosexual and homosexual lines. Whereas female Geraldine Rossiter 9 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance homosocial love and behavior had been accepted in pre-20th century society, it now became a deviant lifestyle and the rallying cry for anti-feminists. Women who exhibited manly behavior, whether through their dress, lifestyle, or mannerisms were now exposed to accusations of degenerate lesbianism. In fact a o di g to Ne to ot o l ossi g o aspi atio to as the ost dege e ate les ia the ale p i ilege as p o a l a s pto ost as uli e, ut a of les ia is ge de - (566). As a result of this antifeminist stance, female authors began to modify the language in their subversive texts from a moderately homosocial to a blatantly heterosexual standpoint. By examining the texts of these three authors it becomes clear that there is a difference in originating position between the homosocial and heterosexual authors. While Gormleith is subversive and radical, she is clearly heterosexual. Her marriage to Brian is a source of contentment and fulfillment for her, and it is her exclusion from public life that creates the tension drives the dramatic elements in the play. She has no female companions, not even a servant in whom she can confide, and is isolated fo fe ale so iet a d o pa io ship f o the outset of the pla . G a ia’s se ualit ho e er is much less apparent. Her masculine attributes are consistently referred to and we are constantly reminded of her strength, stature, male mannerisms and characteristics. She and Honor share an incredibly strong bond based on love, respect and understanding. No such bond is evidenced in any of the other heterosexual relationships in the novel. While Grania exhibits the New Woman characteristics of desiring sexual autonomy and freedom, she never realizes these within the male-female pairing of her relationship with Murdough, and Honor is practically asexual, preferring the safe and isolated world of females to the terrorizing world of men. Dei d e’s se ualit is also ought i to uestio ea l i the pla . B o i i g oth as uli e and feminine sensibilities within the same body, Gore-Booth radically proclaims her philosophy of gender mutability, her belief that there are no men or women, but that both genders exist within each human body. Through gender mutation Gore-Booth abolishes sexual differentiation and withdraws from Geraldine Rossiter 10 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance the dominant/subordinate, male/female relationship, to advocate complete gender equality and sexual autonomy. If there is no sex, no gender to perform, then there can be no essential difference between man and woman. Significantly Deirdre also has a female support system in the play. Levarcam is completely dedicated to her young charge, willing to incur the wrath of Conor in order to protect Deirdre from him. Although betrayed by Conor and disappointed by Naisi, Deirdre can rely on the constancy and loyalty of Levarcam. It is these two essential elements, gender flexibility and female intimacy that distinguish the innate heterosexuality of Gregory and the lesbian aesthetics of Lawless and Gore-Booth. Through this analysis of their texts, we can detect a lesbian aesthetic that informs a subtle yet identifiably different point of origin from which they began their indictment of heteropatriarchal values and a culture of domination. As a group, they established a mode of discourse that advocated for an acceptance of the hybrid nature of Irish society. As Protestants, patriots, lesbians and heterosexual women, they represented the diversity from which the native bourgeoisie had the opportunity to fashion a postcolonial society, one which would reject the binary opposition of native versus imperialist, woman versus man, Catholic versus Protestant, and implement a social order in which all minority voices and modernizing movements participated in the government of the state. It is to the everlasting detriment of Irish literature and culture that this social order never came to fruition. Geraldine Rossiter 11 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance Works Cited Ap Hywel, Elin. "Elise and the Great Queens of Ireland." Gender in Irish Writing. Ed. Toni O'Brien and David Cairns. Buckingham: Open University Press, 1991. 23-39. Barber, John. "Women Readers of the World Arise! You Have Nothing to Lose but Your Shackles." Globe and Mail 10 March 2012: R18. Bowles, Noelle. "Nationalism and Feminism in Lady Gregory's Kincora, Dervorgilla, and Grania." New Hibernia Review 3:13 (1999): 116-130. Butler, Judith. "Critically Queer." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies Vol. 1 (1993): 17-32. Cave, Richard Allen. "Revaluations: Representations of Women in the Tragedies of Gregory and Yeats." Irish University Review 34.1.Spring-Summer (2004): 122-132. Coxhead, Elizabeth. Lady Gregory: A Literary Portrait. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1961. Dixon, Joy. Divine Feminie: Theosophy and Feminism in England. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Gore-Booth, Eva. The Plays of Eva Gore-Booth. Ed. Frederick Lapsardi. Lewiston, 1991. Hansson, Heidi. Emily Lawless 1845-1913: Writing the Interspace. Cork: University of Cork Press, 2007. Lawless, Emily. "from A Note on the Ethics of Literary Forgery." The Field Day Anthology of Irish Women's Writing and Tradition. Ed. Angela Bourke, et al. Vol. V. New York: New York University Press, 2002. 1073-1077. Lewis, Gifford. Eva Gore-Booth and Esther Roper: A Biography. London: Pandora Press, 1988. Lloyd, David. Ireland After History. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1999. Markievicz, Constance. "from Women, Ideals and the Nation." The Field Day Anthology of Irish Women's Writing and Traditions. Ed. Angela Bourke, et al. Vol. Vol V. New York: New York University Press, 2002. 99-100. —. Prison Letters of Countess Markievicz. Ed. Esther Roper. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1934. Maume, Patrick. "Emily Lawless's Maelcho and the Crisis of Imperial Romance." Eire/Ireland Vol. 41:.3&4 (2006): 245-66. Nandy, Ashis. The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of Self Under Colonialism. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983. Newton, Esther. "The Mythic Mannish Lesbian: Radclyffe Hall and the New Woman." Signs Vol. 9.No. 4 The Lesbian Issue (1984): 557-575. Geraldine Rossiter 12 Hidden Voices: Irish Women Writers of the Celtic Renaissance O'Neill, Maire. "Emily Lawless." Dublin Historical Record Vol. 48.Issue 2 (1995): 124-141. Prager, Jeffrey. Building Democracy in Ireland: Political irder and cultural integration in a newly independent nation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Said, Edward. Culture and Imperialism. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Sheehy-Skeffington, Hanna. "from: Reminiscences of an Irish Suffragette." The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing: Irish Women's Writing and Traditions 2002: 91-99. Tiernan, Sonja. "Challenging Assumptions of Heterosexuality: Eva Gore-Booth, A Biographical Case Study." Historical Reflections Volume 37.Issue 2 (2011): 58-71. Weekes, Ann Owen. Irish Women Writers: An Uncharted Tradition. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1990. Zimmerman, Bonnie. "What Has Never Been: An Overview of Lesbian Feminist Literary Criticism." 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