American Animals, American Men: Popular Literature from 1830 to 1915
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AMERICAN ANIMALS, AMERICAN MEN: POPULAR LITERATURE FROM 1830 TO 1915 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Stephen D. Kelly December 2020 Examining Committee Members: Miles Orvell, Advisory Chair, English James Salazar, English Talissa Ford, English Matt Wray, External Member, Sociology ii © Copyright 2020 by Stephen D. Kelly All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Critics of animal rights often deride the movement’s proponents for having a sentimental, juvenile misconception of what animals really are, an argument bolstered by the fact that few twenty-first-century Americans besides those engaged in the industries of animal exploitation have any prolonged contact with real animals other than their pets. Until the first decades of the twentieth century, however, American cities teemed with diverse animal residents and workers, and a rapidly increasing percentage of humans grew in their conviction that these animal neighbors should be extended considerations and rights. Shifting ideas about these animals’ roles within United States society were captured in a number of new bestselling literary genres centered around “realistic” depictions of animal characters. Because animals are often conceptualized as a “contrast class” to humanity—a fundamental “Other” by which humans establish what qualities make themselves distinct and (typically) superior—analyzing these texts and their circulation within nineteenth- century culture reveals how Americans understood authority and systems of governance, and in particular how they modeled an ideal American manhood nourished by animal bodies. What forms of exploitation and control were permissible in a man’s treatment of his animals often reflected other power dynamics within society, and so these texts also provide insight into issues of class, race, and gender. Although the historical trajectory of popular culture depictions of realistic animals shows a general increase in compassion, egalitarianism, and the extension of rights, the successful removal of much animal exploitation from visibility has allowed that exploitation to grow in spite of the increasing popular sentiment to the contrary. iv For Biz & the banhjies, with love v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My utmost gratitude goes to Miles Orvell, who patiently endured many bewildered drafts and was always ready with map in hand to guide me back to the trail when he found me wandering, captivated by some rare foliage. With wisdom, frankness, and much wry humor, he guided me to this much desired destination like a bright, clear, and dependable beacon, and—since an animal metaphor is perhaps due—the lion’s share of my indebtedness goes to him. I am grateful for James Salazar, whose passionate engagement with a grand sweep of fine-grained knowledge provided me with a crucial model to emulate in my first semester of doctoral study, and who has candidly shared his insights with me ever since. I am privileged to have worked with Talissa Ford, whose course on extinction was a thrilling introduction to the seismic role played by the figure of the animal in nineteenth- century thought, and whose engaging conversation has made me feel a welcome initiate to the scholarly community. My thanks to Matt Wray for his insights, assistance, and encouragement. My gratitude and esteem likewise goes to the rest of the English faculty at Temple University, particularly those whose creative course design and generous flexibility allowed me to explore research and themes pertinent to this dissertation, namely Brian Teare, Steve Newman, Sue-Im Lee, Carissa Harris, and Kate Henry. I am much indebted to those trustworthy, reliable, and friendly persons who have advocated on behalf of my employment and business affairs while at Temple, namely Rachael Groner, Lorraine Savage, Cate Almon, Lori Salem, and my comrades in the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association. vi I have great appreciation for Sharon Logan, who has not only kept things running on the eleventh floor all these years but has also kept those same halls bright with her kindness and smiling eyes. This dissertation’s completion was financially supported by a generous grant from the Graduate Board Fellowship Committee of Temple University. This dissertation could not have been completed without the resources provided by the Temple University Libraries and their staff. I am also thankful to the staff and visitors of the Lovett branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia system, who provided me with a comfortable yet stimulating space to write away from home. Thank you also to the taxpayers who make such spaces possible, to my neighbors in Mt. Airy who always indulge me in my smiles, waves, and hellos on the sidewalk, and to the community of Philadelphia, where good things happen. Many friends have kept me both grounded and uplifted during the past eight tumultuous years. Elizabeth Kim saw through my oversized donkey mask and my attempts to maintain the mystery and realized that deep inside I’m just a person who wants someone to sing Avril Lavigne with at karaoke; thank you, Elli, for your sound advice, your humor, your constant supply of snacks, and for introducing me to the bagel-eating ghost of John Ashbery. Elizabeth Justine White Vidarte has been a more patient, generous, and dependable friend than I deserve, and I greatly appreciate her superhuman reserves of love, empathy, and exuberant joy, which are all the more impressive for coexisting in such harmony with an exquisite, state-of-the-art bullshit detector. Darla Himeles is the model of a poet-scholar, infusing all her being with earnest openness, radiant awareness, and quiet authority; it was a pleasure working, laughing, and crying with you, and I look forward to vii future adventures and schemes, be they establishing universities or simply walking the Wissahickon. My other friends and colleagues in the English Department and at the Student Success Center have made Temple a friendly, funny, and invigorating environment despite the high levels of stress; thank you to Femi Oyebade, Vanessa Loh, Dana DiLullo Gehling, Richard Kruse, Jake Johnson, Lindsay Bartkowski, Charlie Manis, Danielle Abdon, Jennie Burd, Relwan Onikoyi, Chloe Huh Prudente, Naaja Rogers, Sam Wong, Maddie Lagonegro-Coar, Liz Ursell, Maggie Villari, Holly Schaeffer, and all the others who have put smiles on my face at Temple since 2013. A great many people in a great many places have helped to shape me into the person typing away at this keyboard on the morning of November 28, 2020, and I am grateful to all of them for their contributions to my memories and my identity. To name only a small handful: Cory Andreen, Heather James Aronno, Katie Ash, Taylor Ball, Mister Jason Campbell, Tara Campbell (and family!), Pete Campisi, Dan Carnevale, Brianna Chakalis, Charlotte Cobb, Brynn Carlisle DeLorimier, Elissa Goetschius, Ralena Gordon, Ashley Hollingshead, Ms. Marie Hong, Chris Hughes, Heather Kendrick Hughes, Lyle Klyne, Charlie Naujokas, Shannon Panuska, Ms. Bomi Park, Diana Payne, Pilly Michael Pilapil, Nikki Preciado, Mary Pruter, Matt Ramsey, Errol Rivera, Ben Robertson, Jonathan Robertson, Rosa Jessica Rosa, Zewdinesh Taye Gebru, Clementine Thomas, Christina Pagano Tickell, Sandra Tsung, Mrs. Catherine Ferrell Walker, Travis Ward, Justin Williamson, Ryan Williams, Liz Pankey Xiao, Justin Yazzie, my wonderful and beautiful ma to whom I owe everything, my brother and sister, my grandma and grandpa, my Aunt Barbara (aka Faye aka Elaine), my sister-in-law, Arianna, Malaya, and Jayden. I am terrible viii at long-distance friendships, but in my memories we frequently visit, and it’s always a good time. Almost all of this dissertation was written in the company of Honey and Poe, who have freely used my lap as a lounge chair. Although they sometimes directly interfered with my completion of this work, the uniqueness of their personalities and the endless vibrancy of their presence kept my abstractions rooted in reality and taught me new ways to communicate, and I am extremely grateful to call them family. I am likewise grateful to share a life with my husband, Paul Benjamin Robertson, whose extraordinary intelligence, adroitness at solving all problems, and preternatural determination have somehow never tainted his genuine humility, his unchecked kindness, his unbounded playfulness, or his utter conviction in the equality of all persons. Within you lies the best of all extremes. You are my hero, and I am grateful to be a part of your story. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................. xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: SEEING THE INSCRUTABLE IN THE EXPLOITABLE..........1 Coming into View: 1750–1900 ..............................................................................23 Animal Authorities and Animal Alterity in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale ...............39 2. THE GANDER PULLING IS “REALLY REAL” ONLY TO THE GANDER: A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED AMERICAN BLOOD SPORT ..................................75 What the Devil is a Gander