Analysis 1
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Emaan SolimanAnalysis 1
Harriet Beecher Stowe lived in the period of 1811 through 1896 which involved living through the Victorian’s era. She was raised in a family who valued education. Stowe’s father was a Presbyterian minister, theologian, and seminary president. Thus, he made sure that all of his children, males and females were educated.¹ This had an initial impact on the development of Stowe. She grew up as a confident individual who was well educated in theology, a writer, and interpreter of scriptures.²
As a writer, Stowe was involved with the antislavery movement. She wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which was best-selling in that period. In this book, she addressed various issues about negativity of slavery during this time.³ This shows that show was involved with abolitionist movement as a way to show her support of Anti-slavery acts by using the bible to prove her points. Stowe incorporated her interpretations of the biblical text even in her fictional writings.4 These interpretations presented a different point of view. Her interpretations of the scriptures were based on her historical context which included the church and the white male dominance role.5 Additionally, it also reflected the culture of women during the nineteenth-century.
Stowe’s interpretations of the biblical text show a special interest of women’s leadership role and that was related to her society. Based on the cultural constraints of her time, women were not able to obtain many of their rights.6 Women were expected to stay home and be mothers while taking care of their families, but they lose their personal rights after marriage.7 Some women leaders, especially those involved in feminist political organizations, tried to advocate for women’s rights and pointing out their ability to do work outside of the home.8 Stowe was unique in her way of sending the message to her audience. In contrast, she started off by advocating for women to be wives and mothers, which reflected on her own life experience. Stowe viewed women’s role as wives and mothers as a leadership quality.9 In her writings such as “My Wife and I” Stowe pointed out the traditional roles of females.10 As mentioned in “Canadian Review of American Studies 45, 2015” “Stowe praised gentle homemakers and condemned outspoken female agitators”.11 This suggests that by advocating for the traditional roles of females in that period, she was making an argument of women being wives and mothers and these arguments resonated with people in that period. It also explains how she interpreted the biblical texts by viewing Miriam as a wife and a mother and linked that to her leadership role.
Furthermore, in her writings, Stowe continued to emphasize the importance of being a religious women or wife whose work and devotion to God.12 This is another evidence that shows how Stowe interpreted the story of Miriam as a biblical figure. She viewed Miriam as a Hebrew female prophet who is devoted to her God, and a public leader.13 Along with the emphasis on traditional roles and being pious women, Stowe recognized the qualities of leadership abilities of women even outside their homes. For example, in her novel “My Wife and I” she also pointed out the two women who were motivated to be ambitious in their society and “move beyond traditional roles”.14 These qualities that Stowe mentioned, set the tone in her interpretations about the leadership roles of Miriam inside and outside her home. She explained that Miriam had a great influence on Moses’s life, who is also an important figure in the text.15 She highlighted the verses from (Exod. 14:1-15:21) about the move that Miriam initiated as a leader leading the women by the song of praise while dancing in victory. This interpretation shows the importance of women’s role in the lives of their families and how influential they be.
Stowe as an interpreter of scriptures highlighted various parts in the biblical text about Miriam. Her interpretation of the biblical text heavily relied on the historical context, which involved the debate about the culture of women in the nineteenth-century. This debate was addressing what was considered acceptable for women at that time and their roles. While recognizing and pointed out Miriam’s leadership roles, she tried to connect her audience of this period with a strong base of women’s leadership roles like biblical figures.
Notes:
1. Marion A. Taylor, Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2012), 482-486.
2. Marion A. Taylor, Handbook of Women Biblical, 482-486.
3. Ibid
4. Ibid
5. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, "Married Women And The Law" The Institution of Marriage (1854): 267.
6. Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon, "Married Women And The Law", 267.
7. Ibid
8. Marc Egnal, "Historicizing Domesticity: The Impact of the Woman's Rights Movement" Canadian Review of American Studies 45, no 2 (2015): 238-258.
9. Marc Egnal, "Historicizing Domesticity: 238-258
10. Marc Egnal, 249
11. Ibid, 250
12. Ibid
13.Ibid, Marion A. Taylor, 486
14. Ibid, Marc Egnal, 250
15. Ibid
