High Church Mysticism in the Letters of Jane Ellen Harrison and Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion Margaret M
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 Sacraments, Sacrifice, and Ritual: High Church Mysticism in the Letters of Jane Ellen Harrison and Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion Margaret M. Armstrong Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE SACRAMENTS, SACRIFICE, AND RITUAL: HIGH CHURCH MYSTICISM IN THE LETTERS OF JANE ELLEN HARRISON AND PROLEGOMENA TO THE STUDY OF GREEK RELIGION By MARGARET M. ARMSTRONG A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester 2007 Copyright © 2007 Margaret Armstrong All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Margaret M. Armstrong defended on February 16, 2007. ____________________ Barry Faulk Professor Directing Dissertation ____________________ Francis Cairns Outside Committee Member _____________________ Karen Laughlin Committee Member _____________________ Nancy B. Warren Committee Member Approved: _______________________________________ David Johnson, Chair, Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii To my husband, John, for his unfailing patience and support. To my mother and Shirley. To Patti Jean, my sister and best friend iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the Principal and Fellows, Newnham College, Cambridge University for their kindness in allowing me to access the letters of Jane Ellen Harrison and for permission to use them in this dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge the kind help given to me by Anne Thomson and Pat Ackerman while I was reading Jane Harrison’s letters at the Newnham Archive. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures............................................................................................................. viii Abstract..........................................................................................................................ix . INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 I. Methodology...........................................................................................2 II. Primary Source Material.........................................................................4 II. Archival Bias ..........................................................................................9 IV. Conclusion ............................................................................................10 TIMELINE OF JANE HARRISON’S LIFE ................................................................11 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .......................................................18 Introduction.............................................................................................................18 I. The Study of Greek Myth and Religion in Victorian England .............................................................................20 II. Jessie Stewart and Robert Ackerman....................................................22 III. The Biographical Literature..................................................................30 IV. Harrison and Religion...........................................................................37 V. Reminiscences of a Student’s Life.........................................................44 VI. Conclusion ............................................................................................48 CHAPTER 2. THE VICTORIAN HIGH CHURCH AS RELIGIOUS BACKDROP.........................................................................................50 Introduction.......................................................................................................50 I. The Victorian High Church: An Overview...........................................52 II. High Churchism: Politics and Sacraments............................................60 III. The Evolution of Ritual ........................................................................65 IV. Conclusion ............................................................................................72 v CHAPTER 3. A WILD BRAND OF HIGH CHURCHISM: 1867-1874.....................73 Introduction.......................................................................................................73 I. Reminiscences of a Yorkshire Girl, 1867.............................................78 II The First Yorkshire Vignette ................................................................80 III. The Second Yorkshire Vignette............................................................85 IV. The Third Yorkshire Vignette...............................................................92 V. Harrison, Her Father, and Ritual...........................................................98 VI. High Church Teachings at Cheltenham Ladies College: 1867-1870............................................................100 VII. A Cheltenham Vignette.......................................................................108 VIII. Postscript to Cheltenham, 1870-1874.................................................113 IX. Conclusion ..........................................................................................116 CHAPTER 4. POETIC RESERVE AND SACRAMENTAL IMAGES IN HARRISON’S LETTERS: 1888-1914 ...............................................117 Introduction.....................................................................................................117 I. The Doctrine of Reserve......................................................................121 II. Tractarian Poetry and Sacramental Symbols .....................................127 III. The Cross as a Sacramental Symbol....................................................139 IV. Sacramental Allusions from the Liturgy and Prayer Book..................149 V. Two Letters: An Extended Eucharistic Metaphor and Anglo-Catholic Imagery.........................................................151 VI. Conclusion .........................................................................................157 CHAPTER 5. POETICIZING THE EUCHARIST IN PROLEGOMENA TO THE STUDY OF GREEK RELIGION.........................................................158 Introduction.....................................................................................................158 I. Economy and Typology: The Seeds of Prolegomena ......................163 II. A New Reading of Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion.....166 III. Dionysos as Type, Christ as Antitype, and Eucharistic Images .......176 IV. Conclusion ........................................................................................185 CHAPTER 6. ANGLO-CATHOLIC RITUALIST: Letters from 1876-1924............187 Introduction.....................................................................................................187 I. Anglo-Catholic Ritual......................................................................189 II. Liturgical References ......................................................................203 III. Direct References to Anglican Ritual ..............................................211 IV. A Letter from Virginia Woolf to Jacques Raverat...........................214 V. Conclusion .......................................................................................217 vi CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................218 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................222 APPENDIX A: The “Conversion” Letters ................................................222 APPENDIX B: Ritual Arrests...................................................................232 APPENDIX C: Two Versions of a Letter from Dorothea Beale...............238 APPENDIX D: Additional Excerpts from Harrison’s Letters that Indicate an Intense Interest in Anglican Ritual............242 APPENDIX E: Permission Letter from Newnham College, Cambridge .252 BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................256 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ......................................................................................283 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Picture of Jane Ellen Harrison circa 1875 ....................................................69 Figure 2. An Ancient Eucharist?................................................................................175 Figure 3. Mirrlees and Harrison late 1920s ...............................................................216 viii ABSTRACT A gap exists in the biographical scholarship on Jane Ellen Harrison’s own personal religious beliefs that has affected how her work on ancient religion has been interpreted. Front and center in the discussion of Harrison’s religious beliefs has been her disdain of the Evangelical upbringing administered by her stepmother; this hatred of Evangelicalism has been interpreted as proof of her antagonism against all Victorian religion with no attention paid to the intricacies of Victorian Anglicanism. Harrison herself helped to muddy the waters. For instance, she often paradoxically referred to herself as a “religious atheist” and joined societies with names such as the Heretic Society.