For many higher education institutions, they mandate their students to write often and create portfolios with their work. By this practice it reiterates the idea that with practice there will be improvement in that particular task. This is shown throughout history. Time goes on, ideologies change, grow, and adapt to new beginnings. During the American Revolution changes were involved in every aspect of their lives. There was a new government, new concepts to maintain the government etc. However, through all this change historians often forget that the roles of women changed and adapted to new life as well. The concept of woman pre-revolution is different from post-revolution. Through the writings of Mercy Otis Warren we aim to identify the change of ideologies in regard to the roles of women within their time period.
In the colonial period, women were perceived as only housewives but this is further from the truth, Elizabeth Cometti for example, argues the colonial-era women took care of home life, insuring there was food on the table, the house was clean, and their children. Furthermore, she includes widows stating that women were to take over financial burdens when husbands died. By women entering the roles their husbands once held it gave them the entry level position to political affairs. These women were involved in mainly political economics and also needed to be up to date with current affairs to better educate themselves and their children. If a man is no longer present, the woman has to stand for herself.
Ronald Hoffman and Peter Albert argue that women during this period women were becoming a part of the political economics in regard to domestic duties. Cometti agrees, showing how women were domestic partners and a major part of this was ensuring meals for the family. In order to provide for these meals, they made decisions on what to buy and from whom. Rosemarie Zagarri argues how women were able to be active within politics due to their involvement of educating themselves by reading and observing the events around them ultimately in agreement with Cometti’s statements. Both authors conclude that women had involvement with colonial political economics by boycotting the tea coming from the British leading to the Boston Tea Party.
Furthermore, Zagarri elaborates the idea of women being involved in political economics however she also discusses how women evolved once the war began. She states that women had to continue working at home but also take over the husband’s duties when they leave to war. She also shows how women became involved in politics by creating Daughters of Liberty in counterpart to Sons of Liberty. Women began to realize they had an important role within the revolution and fell in line to what they needed to do for their new-found country. This meant that they became “deputy husbands” when in the absence of their husband they took on their role.
Zagarri argues in “Revolutionary Backlash” that women throughout the period of the American Revolution understood how society viewed them.” Even the government of our country which is said to be the freest in the world, passes over women as if they are not free.” For many strong women of the time they understood they had the same capabilities as men with restrictions. Throughout the paper we will see how Mercy Otis Warren comes to this realization and how she dealt with knowing how strong she was politically but seen as weak due to her femininity.
Mercy Otis Warren wrote understanding that there were constrictions to what she was able to publish and how she published. She often wrote under a different name or had her husband publish her writings. She was a playwright who often included political themes. In The Ladies of Castille she provides two different viewpoints of a woman. Both women follow the common societal standards of obedience towards male figures in their lives. There is a change in character for one of the leading ladies. The Ladies of Castile will guide an overview of concepts about women throughout the American Revolution. Historians have discussed gender roles within this time period, but through analyzing the writings of someone who witnessed event first hand will provide new information.
By providing insight into Mercy Otis Warren’s life and who she was associated with this provides her credibility on her knowledge of politics. The discussion of Otis Warren’s writings will help show the change over time as we will start with Otis Warren’s first writings to her last. The last drama she published is credible due to her age. Otis Warren lived through the American Revolution and was a leading political writer. She matured as the years went on and has the life experiences to give plausible evidence that what she accounts for has truth. All of Otis Warren’s writings had parallels to the life she was experiencing with that particular time frame thus it is fair to conclude the writings were example to the people around her including herself.
The writings of Mercy Otis Warren will not only provide an insight into the American Revolution, but gives the perspective of a woman. By giving background into Otis Warren’s life and the history on the time period it gives the discussion of gender roles easier to interpret. It is important to have both histories to further understand both the time period and how women were effected. Women from today face different political disparities then women from the 18th century. After the discussion of writings that discuss some evolution The Ladies of Castile will be analyzed closely to further understand on a broad spectrum the evolution of gender roles.
Mercy Otis Warren: Historical Political Background
Mercy Otis Warren was a well-known poet, dramatist, and historian born in 1728. Her family was involved heavily in politics as her father was a practicing lawyer as well as her brother. Much like most women of the time she had no formal education, but would often sit in on the lessons of her brothers’. She would later go on to marry James Warren, who served as the state legislature to Massachusetts. Throughout her lifetime her family had several ties with political figures and events leading to her involvement within the American Revolution. Otis Warren used her experiences to first publish anonymous on political ideologies as well as be a confidant to political figures such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.
Otis Warren would not be the political writer, known today had it not been for the men around her. Growing up Otis Warren’s brothers focused their education on politics and as she sat in on lessons she observed and acquired the same knowledge. Her brother, James Otis, graduated from Harvard and practiced law. He is most known for his opposition against British imposed laws which permitted British law to search warrants enforcing the strict trade within North America. These laws consented the British to enter homes without permission in search for smuggled goods. James Otis argued under the doctrine of natural law, which stated that citizens have basic rights, omitted the act whether Parliament granted permission. James Otis would be rumored to coin the phrase, “Taxation without representation is tyranny!”
James Warren was Mercy Otis Warren’s husband, the two married in 1754 a year before the revolution began. The two were second cousins who met at Harvard through James Otis. James Warren was a practicing lawyer and a known vocal critic of the British government. He served a 12-year term in the Massachusetts General Court (1766) and elected speaker in 1775. James Warren was also a member of the Sons of Liberty working closely with the Otis and Adams families. He fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill and later served as Paymaster General of the Continental Army (1776). This allowed him to grow close relations with George Washington.
Both of these men were constants in Otis Warren’s life giving her an insider perspective of the political ideologies growing within the American Revolution. By the men in her life maintain relations with strong political figures, Otis Warren was able to observe the change of a nation. Due to her knowledge on political affairs Otis Warren became more confident in speaking these ideologies within groups known as firesides. They would be like secret meetings where Otis Warren would speak of liberty, freedom and revolution. She grew more comfortable with the ideologies and was able to slowly assimilate within a male dominant social group. As both her husband and brother started to detach themselves from the forefront of the revolution Otis Warren took it upon herself to step forward.
Otis Warren would not only stay in close relations with important male figures, but had a female role model as well. She often wrote and exchanged letters with a Catherine Sawbridge Macaulay. Macaulay was a well-respected British political writer who during the time of writing to Otis Warren published a book The History of England from the Revolution to the Present Time. In the book, Macaulay provides a patriot point of view, acknowledging the monopolization of British imports. “On the subject of this last abuse of power and trust…raised by the arts of corruption.” It was Macaulay, who gave Otis Warren the confidence to transition from fireside talks to publications. Otis Warren did start out publishing anonymously allowing herself to think critically about the events happening around her while simultaneously maintaining a specified female gender role (a housewife) in the public eye.
The Beginning of Her Literature:
One of the first writings Otis Warren wrote grew inspiration from the Boston Massacre. Before the Massacre occurred, it is important to note there was tension between Otis Warren and the future governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson. Otis Warren believing in the patriot ideologies did her best to confront Hutchinson about British corruption, however Hutchinson followed Loyalist ideologies. March 5, 1770 was the day of the Massacre in which British soldiers killed five innocent citizens. The community infuriated by the soldiers’ actions tried to hold the acting governor responsible while trying to prevent Hutchinson’s succession to the title. In the end Hutchinson became governor and Otis Warren penned The Adulateur.
Otis Warren wrote The Adulateur with direct parallels to the political figures in real time. One of her characters Rapatio is said to depict Hutchinson. In the play Rapatio states, “Tell me ye patriots/ Will you submit to the fall without a struggle?” This was the interpretation on the night of the massacre. Presented throughout the play is the theme of corruption. Otis Warren’s writing and interpretation of the Boston Massacre was her way of trying to warn the Patriots and civilians within the colonies. Knowing Hutchinson’s true character the play was intended to reveal how evil he truly was and warn Bostonians. Her ending provided significance as a foreshadow of what would come with Rapatio (Hutchinson) in power, “murders, blood and carnage, /Shall crimson all the streets.”
Following The Adulateur Otis Warren penned another play by the title of The Group. Once again, Otis Warren was able to articulate her thoughts were through the characterization rather than the actual plot. For this play Otis Warren, poked fun at the British Loyalist and instead allowed for the monologues of the characters to show the unity of the Patriots. One of the characters states:
“Tho’ proud Britain wafts her wooden walls
O’er the broad waves- and plants them round these Coasts,
Shuts up their Ports, and robs them of their bread,
They’re not dismay’d- nor serviley comply
To pay the hunters of the Nabob shores
Their high demand for India’s pois’nous weed.”
Otis Warren took the opportunity to address the corruption of the British government and how poorly the colonies were being treated across the seas. In the play, there are Coercive Acts which were a direct parallel to the acts that passed against the colonists such as the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Act etc. Through The Group being published created a British sentiment within Boston.
Both of the pervious plays Otis Warren published anonymously. Otis Warren found great joy and fulfillment in watch the public response to her works. She was not the only one who published anonymously either as there were repercussions from the British government. Furthermore, Otis Warren wanted her works to succeed based solely on their content and not due to her family relations or gender. During this time women were seen as uneducated and unreliable based on the gender roles society created.
Otis Warren’s views on gender roles aligned with societal beliefs while simultaneously shifting and expanding. She firmly believed in the two different responsibilities for men and women were due to their intellectual capacities. She realized that both men and women could be successful and smart within their own narratives. In a letter to Abigail Adams she writes that men meant to be “warlike” beings while women are “timid and weak”. Otis Warren is attentive to the different abilities men and women have stated that men are allowed to experience the world for what it is and women are to take care of domestic affairs. This mindset translated into her writings and her political ideologies. She believed women were allowed to have public opinion on the political affairs the nation was undergoing but they were not to hold office and become political figures.
The public had many opinions on gender roles within the time period, which further aided Otis Warren to publish anonymously. A writer known as Timothy Dwight attacked feminists who talked about political rights by stating, “When women leave their character, and assume the character and rights of men, they relinquish their own rights, and are to be regarded and treated as men.” This ideology was opposite to what societal hierarchy had developed. They believed a women’s image included femininity rather than to be masculine by involving themselves within politics. In addition, during the time male writers denounced the credibility of many strong female women who were in power. They stated, “We feel and regret the loss of the lovely and accomplished woman.” Stating that a woman in power is no longer a woman.
This certain culture shaped Otis Warren to grow anxious as she decided to write publicly. The difference being she now wrote for strong male political figures when asked, no longer her thoughts alone. In a letter to John Adams, Otis Warren writes that he may ridicule the female sex for showing interest in political affairs, but it is her opinion that he seeks and therefore she will provide political insight. Otis Warren strived to live the best of both worlds, meaning she gained knowledge and wrote on the political charged writings while maintaining her image of femininity. She writes a poem to describe her role within society named “On Primitive Simplicity”. Within the poem she states that she will leave writing and remain in her “narrow bounds” that is female life and insinuates she will be the pens “gentle mistress and the prudent wife” proving she can take on both roles.
Otis Warren often looked to her male peers for inspiration and direction on what to write. John Adams and her husband often lead Otis Warren to ideas on what to write and in which context. Interestingly, these men did not support her due to their belief that men and women were equal, rather acknowledging Otis Warren had a true literary ability. Her husband would often state that she was a “Masculine Genius”. Through her writings Otis Warren develops a new narrative for women and in one of her last revolutionary era writings, “The Squabble of the Sea Nymphs” she displayed the important role women had in boycotting British tea.
“For females have their influence o’er kings,
Nor wives, nor mistresses, were useless things…
None will neglect the sex’s sage advice,
When they engage in any point so nice,
As to forbid the choice nectareus sip,
And offer bohea to the rosy lip”
It is through this poem that Otis Warren wrote to women, showing them their direct influence of the boycott. Women were household wives that bought many of the domestic items for their household needs and ultimately the power to boycott the tea was in the hands of women. It is as consumers that women become powerful and with women cooperating Otis Warren believed they would be more successful. At this point in Mercy’s career, she reached a fork in the road, where she preached politics was a male quality but she herself was heavily involved within the ideologies. Along with the previous poem Otis Warren states that women are an asset to the revolution. This is when there is a slight change in Otis Warren as her narrative as a woman in the revolutionary period begins to grow. Mercy Otis Warren is very blind to this change, but it becomes evident through her writings. We have seen Otis Warren go from an anonymous writer due to her beliefs and fright of being caught to publicly writing helps the male popular figures address their ideologies and lastly stated women are vital to the revolution. Otis Warren is not through yet as her last play will uncover the change throughout the years from pre-revolutionary to post-revolutionary women.
The Ladies of Castile:
One of Otis Warren’s last publications was The Ladies of Castile. This drama focuses on fictional Spain royalty in the 17th century, when their civil war was taking place. Otis Warren portrays Don Velasco as tyranny and Juan de Padilla a force of virtue. It is evident to note that there are only two female characters within the entire drama. Their characters are drastically opposite from each other and represent the ideal women before the revolution and the other represents post- revolution. The last few sentences in Otis Warren’s preface states that she hopes to “cultivate the sentiments of public and private virtue in whatsoever falls from her pen” without focus on her gender. This was a way of analyzing gender roles and having the public read a play that presents a new narrative without directly stating the change of women’s roles within politics over time.
The character Donna Louisa represents the pre-revolutionary ideal woman. She is a woman who follows her father’s orders and only follows him. In the drama, her lover (Francis, a soldier for Padilla) dies and she is both lost and saddened by the event. For most of her life she is lead by a male figure and suddenly the man she wanted to live with is ripped away from her. It is in Act III where we can see the beginning of her loss trying to come to terms with the possibility of not seeing her love as he goes into battle. “My bleeding heart anticipates my fate:…The fondest husband wields the sharpen’d lance, and both are aim’d at sad Louisa’s breast.” It is also in Act III where Louisa continuously presents death as an option than to live without her husband.
In Act III, Scene IV Donna Louisa’s husband (Padilla) enters battle and is captured taken to prison. The following scene we see the second female character Donna Maria (Padilla’s mistress) questioning the state of her lover. “And does he live to glut their barb’rous rage? Or did some seraph catch the hero’s breath, his latest sigh to see his country free, and gently was his kindred soul away?” She acknowledges that the leader wanted to be victorious in his battles and allow his country independence. Donna Maria represents revolutionary era and post-revolution women who have slowly assimilated into the political culture that is growing within their new-found country.
Act III is the beginning of where we can make the difference between the two characters. Padilla is not dead yet, he is simply in jail yet these two women act variously. Louisa contemplating suicide and Maria ready to keep his memory alive. In Act IV is when Padilla dies and Otis Warren maintains the diversity between the two women. Immediately following the death of Padilla, Maria is presenting a monologue addressing the citizens of Spain. She announces Padilla’s death who was an important leader of the country and states that although she is deeply saddened by the tragedy she will, “light the towers and perish in the flames and smile and triumph in the general wreck…Secure the city- barricade the gates, and meet me arm’d with all the faithful bands.” Maria is ready to fulfill Padilla’s mission to become independent much like America. She does not let the death of her lover hinder her success and rather uses his vessel and previous political stance to enter into the political affairs herself.
In the last act and scene Louisa is looking up to the sky with a dagger to her chest. She is contemplating suicide and is questioning if the God she knows will forgive someone who is so eager to die. Louisa stabs herself and states that she “dies the martyr of his guilty hand.” In reference to her father Velasco who was her lover’s enemy. Louisa could not go on without Francis and has decided to meet him the afterlife. In a time period where religion was sacred this was seen as weak and sinful. Louisa committing suicide was Otis Warren’s approach to showing how dependent women were to their significant other.
These two women in The Ladies of Castile were images to characterize the women of the American Revolution. It is through this drama we see the growth of Mercy Otis Warren. This is the first play in which a woman was the main character and was involved for most of the action on stage. Most importantly, Donna Maria easily identified as the heroine of the drama affirms legitimacy and some argue the necessity of women who play vital roles in political struggles. Otis Warren’s drama penned after the American Revolution reveals the perception of women slightly changes from obedient to become an authority figure themselves within society. The Ladies of Castile differed from Otis Warren’s other works by showing the depth of a woman in society by portraying character development.
Mercy’s Writings:
During the American Revolution women were often treated as second class citizens or this is what is taught within classrooms today. Historians believe that women’s role within the Revolution was vital to the success of the revolution. They helped maintain the house, their children and cared for their husbands. Due to their domestic knowledge, they held a vital role in the Boston Tea Party by boycotting the tea. Women also stepped up when the me went to fight in the war. The American Revolution was a stepping stone for women to grow and assimilate into politics.
Otis Warren’s writings dealt with the events that were occurring during that period of her life and held many parallels to the world around her. She lived through the time and was able to depict the true nature of humans through her dramas such as The Group. All of her dramas focused on the characterization rather than the plot and this allows historians to further understand the mindset of politicians and humans who were living through the American Revolution.
Mercy Otis Warren’s writings are well-known throughout the US History section of history. There have been many publications on her life however, her writings are rarely analyzed to discuss the evolution of women throughout the American Revolution. After critically analyzing Otis Warren’s works and reviewing from a different perspective we are able to see that there is a difference between women pre-revolution and post-revolution. Although, this topic is hardly argued through Otis Warren’s The Ladies of Castile there is proof that women of that time period believed there was change. They saw themselves as stronger, more educated human beings who could exchange political views with their male peers.