University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2016 To write a life : three women in history. Justy Louise Engle University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Christianity Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Nonfiction Commons, Poetry Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Engle, Justy Louise, "To write a life : three women in history." (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2607. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2607 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. 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TO WRITE A LIFE: THREE WOMEN IN HISTORY By Justy Louise Engle B.A. University of Louisville, 2008 M.A. University of Louisville, 2009 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities Department of Humanities University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2016 Copyright 2016 by Justy Engle All rights reserved TO WRITE A LIFE: THREE WOMEN IN HISTORY By Justy Engle B.A. University of Louisville, 2008 M.A. University of Louisville, 2009 A Dissertation Approved on July 28, 2016 By the following Dissertation Committee _________________________________ Dissertation Director Dr. Blake Beattie _________________________________ Dr. Karen Chandler _________________________________ Dr. Michael Williams _________________________________ Dr. Carmen Hardin ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my daughter Selah, whose constant presence was an anchor to my purpose throughout my coursework and dissertation-writing. To my mother, who made me define the words I used—beginning with obstinate—and always pushed me to work harder—even when the light on the other side was only an imaginary hope to me. To my father, who tirelessly asked: have you written on your dissertation today? To my brother, who moved my green piano three times during this process, as I moved for Teach for America. To Dr. Pam Beattie, who encouraged my foray into manuscript studies and watched as I crafted a course that was an introduction to the world of paleography and codicology for undergraduates. To Dr. Karen Chandler, whose determination inspired me as an undergraduate. Working with her has always been a pleasure and I remain thankful for her insight. To Dr. Michael Williams, who first taught me about world literature and encouraged deeper discussion of Dante and Boccaccio. To Dr. Blake Beattie, who taught me that there were three types of Black Death and encouraged me to pursue medieval studies. To Alicia Samuels, my friend and proofreader, who must have read this work in every iteration. For her tireless determination to push me to excel, I am forever grateful. iii ABSTRACT TO WRITE A LIFE: THREE WOMEN IN HISTORY Justy Engle July 28, 2016 This creative and critical hybrid dissertation explores the spiritual connections between three women in distinctly different time periods: contemporary America, nineteenth century America and early fifteenth century France. The overall dissertation explores the autogenealogobiography, what the author defines as the self-writings of women composed within a specific time period in relation to the current moment and generations of ancestral women. The objective of the creative texts is to record the spiritual journeys of life for the women who will come after for the purpose of encouraging careful observation of history so that women will be able to note and internalize how identification of one’s own identity impacts the shift from subjugated passive observer to authoritative active participant. The critical chapters situate the women in the creative chapters in their respective time periods in relation to relevant historical figures. The creative chapters focus on the spiritual, emotional, cultural and psychological issues associated with the position of women in society in relation to religion, family, trauma and career. The creative chapters also focus specifically on the resultant choices and associated negative iv consequences. The critical chapters provide the framework, including the theoretical implications of the time period in relation to the women of the creative texts. The first chapter provides the critical framework that sets up the paired creative text of the second chapter. The critical chapter, chapter one, focuses on eighteenth century female Quaker public friend Elizabeth Ashbridge and the creative chapter, chapter two, focuses on twenty-first century Justy Engle (1986-present). Chapter one includes a reading of Daniel Shea’s critical edition of Ashbridge’s text and looks at it in relation to Christine Levenduski’s portrayal of the figure in Peculiar Power while also navigating the emotional and spiritual ramifications of the poor choices Ashbridge made in allowing herself to be passive rather than active in her life. The second chapter focuses on Justy and, through a series of vignettes, records pivotal emotions, events and prayers that demonstrate how the author created her own life. The italicized portions of the text indicate a glossing of the original text at a point later in life for the character. Both the glossing and the original text touch on the resonances of cultural trauma as present in the life of the individual. Chapter three, also a critical chapter, treats cultural trauma and considers nineteenth century American women’s life writings in order to make way for the character of Laura Ellen Hunt Short (1860-1951) in the creative Chapter four. Chapter three focuses on the differences between belief and action in women’s autobiographical texts, focusing on the paratext of nineteenth century Lucy Larcom’s A New England Girlhood as typical of a spiritually mature writer in a secular text; Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s autobiographical text serves as a non-example. Chapter three utilizes Sidonie Smith’s A Poetics of Women’s Autobiography as well as Paul John Eakin’s American v Autobiography, How Our Lives Become Stories, Touching the World and Fictions in Autobiography to examine the applications of the criticism on women’s autobiographical texts. Chapter four focuses on the lack of fulfillment in the life of Laura and how the dissonance between the character’s orthodoxy and orthopraxy result in a disintegration of self and a lack of true fulfillment and purpose in life. Through a series of chronologically organized vignettes and accompanying later glossings, Laura demonstrates the essence of what it means to be subtly and substantively influenced by the broader cultural trauma and what it means to stand in the liminal space in a liminal state in a post-Civil War community. While Laura ultimately comes to the conclusion about who she is in relation to God, she does not become the fully realized person she hopes to be in her nearly ninety years of life. Chapters five and six focus on Christine de Pizan (1364-ca. 1430), with her life as the first professional female writer in the critical chapter and the underlying emotional implications as evidenced through her self-writings in the creative chapter. The critical chapter seeks to ground her in regard to her predecessors such as St. Augustine and in regard to her contemporaries such as Eustache Deschamps. The intersections of the work of scholars such as Charity Cannon Willard, Earl Jeffrey Richards and Liliane Dulac are present. Chapter six seeks to illumine the parts of Christine’s life that were not recorded in her extant texts and to demonstrate how the cognitive dissonance between her orthodoxy and orthopraxy demonstrate her true beliefs. The reading of Christine’s overall works includes a brief exploration of her theology, focusing on The Book of the City of Ladies, The Treasury of the City of Ladies and, arguably her most autobiographical text, The Vision. vi The dissertation concludes with a thorough explanation of autogenealogobiography and its resonances throughout the text. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 1 – AMERICAN WOMEN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: BRINGING LIGHT TO LIFE .................................................................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER 2 – JUSTY LOUISE BARNETT ENGLE (1986-PRESENT) ...................... 55 CHAPTER 3 – COMPLICATIONS OF INTERTWINED LIVES: REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMALE AUTHORITY IN OPPOSITION TO TRADITIONAL MALE PATRIARCHY IN POST-CIVIL WAR AMERICA ..................................................... 102 CHAPTER 4 – LAURA ELLEN HUNT SHORT, “BLACK MA” (1860-1951) .........