Domestication in Eighteenth-Century English Literature
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Accommodating the Animal: Domestication in Eighteenth-Century English Literature by Erin Parker A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English University of Toronto © Copyright by Erin Parker 2013 Accommodating the Animal: Domestication in Eighteenth-Century English Literature Erin Parker Doctor of Philosophy Department of English University of Toronto 2013 Abstract Eighteenth-century English writers imagined domestication as the education of animals, as a mutually beneficial contract between species, as a form of cruelty and exploitation, and as an extension of hospitality. This study analyses how these diverse literary portrayals of domestication intersect and what they can tell us about eighteenth-century Britons’ conflicted and conflicting feelings about humans’ close relationships with creatures different from, and yet similar to, themselves. I argue that representations of domestication—as an improving or destructive, collaborative or coercive process—provide valuable insights into how eighteenth- century English writers and their readers positioned themselves in relation to animals and dealt with the challenges of “accommodating” or “making room” for animals within their houses and their communities. Each chapter focuses on a different depiction of domestication and the questions it raises about the extent of animals’ capabilities and proximity to humans. I begin with texts that present domestication in terms of education and, in so doing, suggest a link between animals and children. Chapter one examines natural histories and pedagogical treatises that separate animals’ ability to learn from their possession of reason; literary responses to the learned pig and its rumored talent at spelling; and fables and stories for children that entertain the ii possibility of interspecies collaboration in the classroom. In chapter two, using Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa as a case study, I trace how seemingly progressive representations of domestication as a contract which has the informed and voluntary consent of both parties can be used to legitimise oppressive treatment. In chapter three, I explore the connections drawn between domestication and hospitality—and between pets, menagerie animals, guests, and captives—in texts by Francis Coventry, Sarah Trimmer, William Cowper, Gilbert White, and others. The thesis concludes with a brief look at the continued relevance of eighteenth-century representations of domestication today. iii Acknowledgments For the last five years, I have been fortunate to belong to a community of scholars at the University of Toronto that has shaped my work in many valuable ways. I would like to thank my committee members—Tom Keymer, Simon Dickie, and Sara Salih—for their helpful suggestions at every stage of the project. Tom also kept me gainfully employed as his research assistant during this time; this fantastic experience gave me a very welcome excuse to spend a lot of time thinking about the works and correspondence of Samuel Richardson. The support of the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Department of English at the University of Toronto likewise made it possible for me to read and write without financial distractions. This is a privilege I do not take for granted. I feel so incredibly lucky to have had Deidre Lynch as my supervisor. Throughout this process, she has generously read the roughest of drafts, provided insightful and detailed comments, and inspired me to write the best thesis I could. I am extremely grateful that I have had the opportunity to work with her: thank you! Among the many other teachers who have made a lasting impression on me, two warrant special recognition: thank you to Richard Seeley and Alison Conway, whose enthusiasm for literature is contagious. Thanks also go to my ENG306 students for gamely putting up with digressions about royal menageries and Pope’s Great Danes this year, and for reminding me about what I first loved about eighteenth-century literature. Throughout this process, many of my fellow graduate students have provided feedback and moral support, celebrating and commiserating with me as needed. Emma Gorst, in particular, was always available as a friend and editor: I very much appreciate your help. Finally, I want to thank my parents, John and Lindy Parker, for their constant encouragement and frequent care iv packages; my chien savant Zoe for insisting that I take breaks from writing and get some fresh air; and my wonderful, patient husband, Brian Laframboise. For keeping me company during this long journey and for keeping me laughing, you deserve more than gratitude. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi Introduction - Domestication: Determining the Natures of the Beast ............................................ 1 Chapter One - Species of Learning: Domestication and Education ............................................. 17 1 “Educating Animals” ............................................................................................................... 22 2 Learned Animals ...................................................................................................................... 37 3 Trotting Tutoresses and Animal-Teachers ............................................................................... 60 Chapter Two - To Herd with Mankind: Domestication and Cruel Contracts in Clarissa ............ 67 1 “To make Covenants with bruit Beasts” .................................................................................. 75 2 “Circumstances which ought to domesticate a wife” ............................................................... 79 3 “To go tame about house and breed” ....................................................................................... 86 4 Taming the “delighted tamer” .................................................................................................. 97 Chapter Three - Be Our Guest: Domestication and Hospitality ................................................. 109 1 “Confined within proper bounds”: Interspecies Hospitality and its Critics ........................... 116 2 “Doubt Not an Affectionate Host”: Cowper and His Hares .................................................. 124 3 Timothy the Tortoise and Gilbert White the Naturalist ......................................................... 149 4 Entering the Lion’s Den: Menageries and Hospitality ........................................................... 170 Coda ............................................................................................................................................ 186 Bibliography of Works Consulted .............................................................................................. 191 vi 1 Introduction Domestication: Determining the Natures of the Beast “[Domestication] can ennoble or debase, enlarge or diminish, strengthen or enfeeble, just as suits the present occasion,” John Aikin wrote at the end of the eighteenth century, complaining about Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon’s inconsistent use of this “vague term” in his Histoire Naturelle.1 Aikin blames Buffon for being imprecise, but this criticism is misdirected. During a period when there was very little consensus about what domestication meant for (and to) human and nonhuman animals, the only accurate definition was one replete with contradiction. Samuel Johnson’s mid-century definitions—for instance—tell only part of the story. In his Dictionary (1755), Johnson glosses domestick, domesticate, and domify as “inhabiting the house; not wild”, “to make domestic; to withdraw from the public,” and “to tame,” respectively.2 Emphasizing space more than species, these definitions capture some but not all of the nuances of domestication and they provide little insight about Britons’ wide spectrum of feelings about interspecies relationships. In this thesis I argue that literary depictions of domestication as the education of animals, as a mutually beneficial contract between species, as a form of cruelty and exploitation, and as an extension of hospitality give us a much fuller sense of eighteenth-century writers’ and readers’ deep ambivalence about humans’ close relationships with animals. These depictions demonstrate that eighteenth- century Britons’ affective responses to the domestication of animals ranged widely, from 1 John Aikin, Letters from a Father to a Son, on Various Topics, Relative to Literature and the Conduct of Life (London, 1793), 132, hereafter cited parenthetically. 2 Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, 1st edn. (London, 1755), hereafter cited parenthetically. 2 self-congratulation to pity, from guilt to anger, from entitlement to doubt. They demonstrate that some people—either genuinely, or in an effort to ease their consciences or shift attention away from their reliance on animals for food, labour, and companionship—believed that domestication improved the lives of animals, while others saw domestication as the lamentable or justifiable subjugation of non-human creatures. Finally,