Early Nineteenth-Century Women Interpret Scripture in New Ways for New Times
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Reading with our Foresisters: Aguilar, King, McAuley and Schimmelpenninck— Early Nineteenth-Century Women Interpret Scripture in New Ways for New Times by Elizabeth Mary Davis A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Regis College and the Graduate Centre for Theological Studies of the Toronto School of Theology. In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology awarded by Regis College and the University of Toronto. © Copyright by Elizabeth Mary Davis 2019 Reading with our Foresisters: Aguilar, King, McAuley and Schimmelpenninck— Early Nineteenth-Century Women Interpret Scripture in New Ways for New Times Elizabeth Mary Davis Doctor of Theology Regis College and The University of Toronto 2019 Abstract Biblical hermeneutics today is marked by increased attention to women’s experience and voices in interpretation, the illustration of alternatives to the historical-critical approach to create a plurality of interpretation as the interpretive norm, exploration of the social location of earlier interpreters, determination of authority for biblical interpretation, and expansion of hermeneutics to include praxis (a manifestation of embodied or lived theology). This thesis shows that these elements are not completely new, but they are actually embedded in scriptural interpretation from two hundred years ago. The exploration of the biblical interpretation of four women—Grace Aguilar, Frances Elizabeth King, Catherine McAuley and Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck—who lived at the same time in the early nineteenth century in the same geographic region and who represent the spectrum of readers of the Bible, concludes that the interpretive works of these four women were prototypical of and anticipated these elements. ii To guide this exploration, the thesis appropriates the construct of the hermeneutic triangle, examining the social location of the four women, their texts about the Bible and the hermeneutic by which they interpreted the biblical texts. In so doing, it shows that these women, from very different religious traditions, intentionally used the Bible to bring about social change and intuitively used the Bible to legitimate their authority to do so. iii Acknowledgements Because four women (Grace Aguilar, Frances Elizabeth King, Catherine McAuley and Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck) lived in a time of significant social change, loved their holy books and used what they understood as God’s Word to positively influence social change, I was able to write this thesis. Because one of the women, Catherine McAuley, founded the Congregation to which I belong, I was able to write this thesis. Because my parents, Michael and Mary Davis, and my sisters and brothers gave me the love, the confidence and the energy to follow my dreams, I was able to write this thesis. Because the members of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy believed in me and in my love for Scripture, I was able to write this thesis. Because Mary Sullivan, rsm, constantly encouraged me to write about our founder’s love for Scripture, I was able to write this thesis. Because the Sisters and staff at Loretto College gave me a warm and welcoming home in Toronto, I was able to complete this thesis. Because Professor Michael Kolarcik, sj, and the faculty and administration of Regis College trusted in a retired health administrator’s passion for the Old Testament and because Toronto School of Theology professors (including Brian Peckham, sj, and Gerald Sheppard both now deceased) taught me so much, I was able to write this thesis. Because Professor Marion Taylor awakened my interest in women interpreters of the nineteenth century and because she affirmed me throughout this whole journey, I was able to write and complete this thesis. Because the administrative staff at Regis College and the Toronto School of Theology as well as my editor worked with such diligence and patience, I was able to complete this thesis. It is said of Woman Wisdom (Ws 7:27-28), “In every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets.” I am deeply grateful for these friends of God and prophets who have walked before me and with me. To each and every one of them, I say thank you, and again thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. viii Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1 The Thesis Statement ...................................................................................................2 The Context in which the Thesis is Being Developed .................................................2 Methodology and Approach .........................................................................................4 Chapter 1: The New Situation: Social Location of the Four Women .....................................12 New Situation: Social Political and Religious Context ..............................................12 Significant Constitutional Change .....................................................................13 Dramatic Effects of Legislation .........................................................................14 Aftermath of the Industrial Revolution .............................................................16 Evolution of the Middle Class ...........................................................................17 Movements against the Slave Trade and Slavery ..............................................19 The Jewish Enlightenment ................................................................................21 Loss of Church Influence ..................................................................................25 Spread of the Evangelical Movement ................................................................26 Influence of Romanticism .................................................................................28 Women’s Engagement in Philanthropy, Education and Writing ......................30 Plurality of Approaches to Biblical Interpretation ............................................41 New Situation: Social Location of the Four Women ..................................................45 Grace Aguilar: Facts of Blood ..........................................................................46 Grace Aguilar: Facts of Bread ..........................................................................47 The Community for whom Aguilar Wrote .......................................................49 Frances Elizabeth King: Facts of Blood............................................................52 Frances Elizabeth King: Facts of Bread............................................................54 The Community for Whom King Wrote ...........................................................57 Catherine McAuley: Facts of Blood .................................................................59 Catherine McAuley: Facts of Bread .................................................................62 The Community for Whom McAuley Wrote ....................................................63 Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck: Facts of Blood ...............................................66 Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck: Facts of Blood ...............................................67 The Community for Whom Schimmelpenninck Wrote .....................................70 Interactions among Faith Traditions ...........................................................................72 Chapter 2: The Text: The Interpretive Works of the Four Women .......................................78 The Interpretive Works of Grace Aguilar ..................................................................79 Aguilar’s Sources .............................................................................................91 v The Interpretive Works of Frances Elizabeth King ....................................................93 King’s Sources ..................................................................................................99 The Interpretive Works of Catherine McAuley ........................................................101 McAuley’s Sources .........................................................................................105 The Interpretive Works of Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck .....................................111 Schimmelpenninck’s Sources .........................................................................120 Common Sources ............................................................................................125 Biblical Women: Comparisons among the Interpreters ...........................................129 Chapter 3: The Hermeneutic by which the Old is Adapted to the New ...............................145 Scripture Read by the Four Women..........................................................................146 The Bible as the Inspired Word of God ....................................................................148 The God of the Bible as the God of Love .................................................................154 Scripture as Foundational to the Respective Faith Traditions ..................................162 Readers of the Bible ..................................................................................................168 Special Meaning for Women ....................................................................................170 Manner of Reading the Bible ....................................................................................176