Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Summer 2009 A Unity of Contraries: Dorothy Day and the 'No- Alibi' Rhetoric of Defiance and Devotion Catherine Carr Fitzwilliams Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Fitzwilliams, C. (2009). A Unity of Contraries: Dorothy Day and the 'No-Alibi' Rhetoric of Defiance and Devotion (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/544 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A UNITY OF CONTRARIES: DOROTHY DAY AND THE ‗NO-ALIBI‘ RHETORIC OF DEFIANCE AND DEVOTION A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies of the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Catherine Carr Fitzwilliams August 2009 Copyright by Catherine Carr Fitzwilliams 2009 A UNITY OF CONTRARIES: DOROTHY DAY AND THE ‗NO-ALIBI‘ RHETORIC OF DEFIANCE AND DEVOTION By Catherine Carr Fitzwilliams Approved July 20, 2009 ________________________________ ________________________________ Janie Harden Fritz Ronald C. Arnett Associate Professor of Communication Professor of Communication And Rhetorical Studies And Rhetorical Studies (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Kathleen Glenister Roberts Associate Professor of Communication And Rhetorical Studies (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Christopher M. Duncan Ronald C. Arnett Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Chair, Communication School of Liberal Arts And Rhetorical Studies iii ABSTRACT A UNITY OF CONTRARIES: DOROTHY DAY AND THE ‗NO-ALIBI‘ RHETORIC OF DEFIANCE AND DEVOTION By Catherine Carr Fitzwiliams August 2009 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Janie Harden Fritz This offering considers what I term the embedded narrative of Dorothy Day (1897-1980) as a Rhetoric of Defiance and Devotion and it is illustrated by selected metaphors associated with Martin Buber and M. M. Bakhtin. Concepts of conscience, community and the complexities associated with being authentically human are engaged within an interpretive journey of a life lived in response to the flashpoints of the last century. Enlisting hermeneutics as a guide, Day‘s petite narrative is situated against a broader narrative of eight decades of economic, social, political, cultural and (for her) philosophical and spiritual changes. Her various and varying labels are explored: radical, rhetorician, journalist, mistress, wife, divorcée, single parent, pacifist, activist, agitator, convert, founder of the Catholic Worker, and ‗thorn in the side of both church and state.‘ iv This work argues that Day is a realistic idealist and a textured-by-humanity communication role model whose authenticity and courage challenges the current climate of cynicism, non-responders and failed heroes. Day is proposed as a genuine hero who demanded of her admirers that ‗they also join the work‘ thus promoting praxis over piety. While Day finds an intellectual home within Gadamer‘s criteria of ‗word and deed,‘ philosophically, she is invested in Buber‘s call for community and his thinking about our complex humanity. With Bakhtin, Day shares a construct of the ‗no-alibi‘ conscience. v DEDICATION This is dedicated to my beloved daughter. Maureen Fitzwilliams 1961-2003 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENT With inestimable gratitude to Dr. Ronald C. Arnett, Dr. Janie Harden Fritz, and with heartfelt thanks to my family and the Catholic Worker Family. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENT................................................................................................... vii Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Why Narrative? ............................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 12 Interpretation ................................................................................................................. 13 Martin Buber ................................................................................................................. 16 M. M Bakhtin ................................................................................................................ 19 Preview of Chapters ...................................................................................................... 23 Chapter Two: Dorothy Day and ‗the No-Alibi of Conscience‘ ........................................ 27 Reading: Conscience as Inspiration .............................................................................. 31 Conscience and Radical Response ................................................................................ 36 Love and Conscience .................................................................................................... 38 The Costs of Conscience ............................................................................................... 42 Devotion and Defiance: Conscience Synthesized ......................................................... 46 Interpretive Analysis: Dorothy Day and ‗The No-Alibi Conscience‘ .......................... 49 Chapter Three: Dorothy Day and Buber‘s Metaphor of Community ............................... 55 Peter Maurin: Communitarian ...................................................................................... 59 The Catholic Worker Community ................................................................................ 62 Houses of Hospitality .................................................................................................... 64 viii Community and its Costs .............................................................................................. 66 Community and Conflict............................................................................................... 68 Community and the Church .......................................................................................... 71 Community and Controversy ........................................................................................ 75 Community and Absurdity ............................................................................................ 79 Community Changes and Challenges ........................................................................... 81 Interpretive Analysis: Dorothy Day and Buber‘s Metaphor of Community ............... 88 Chapter Four: Communication ........................................................................................ 92 Day as Communicator................................................................................................... 97 Authenticity and Communication ............................................................................... 101 Day‘s Rhetoric as Communication ............................................................................. 103 Pacifism and Communication ..................................................................................... 106 Protest as Communication .......................................................................................... 111 Humanity Communicated ........................................................................................... 118 Parody as Communication .......................................................................................... 124 Personal Communication ............................................................................................ 126 Interpretive Analysis: Communication ...................................................................... 131 Chapter Five: Summary ................................................................................................. 136 Definitions and Interpretations ................................................................................... 138 Dangers of Interpretation ............................................................................................ 146 Telescopic Philanthropy.............................................................................................. 149 Self-Definition ............................................................................................................ 153 Narrative Embeddedness ............................................................................................ 154 ix Interpretive Analysis: Defining Day Treading ‗The Narrow Ridge‘ .......................... 157 Chapter Six: Conclusion ................................................................................................ 162 Praxis and Potentiality ................................................................................................ 172 Potentiality and Problem-Solving ..............................................................................