Abstract

Amanda Ramirez

Abstract

March 3, 2011

Shurter, Robert L. "Mrs. Hannah Webster Foster and the Early American Novel." American Literature 4.3 (2002): 306. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Feb. 2011.

Abstract:

            This article provides an overview of both of Hannah Webster Foster’s novels, The Boarding school, and The Coquette. The fact that The Coquette was more readily accepted than The Boarding school is explained, as is the author’s life during, and after her authorship. The influence of Foster is explored, both in the literary realm, and on other significant literary experts such as Phinneus Adams. This displays that this female author had an affect on men who became considered literary experts. This critic uses articles from newspapers written when the author was alive as a source of evidence in the article. I would recommend this article because it gives the reader more insight to the characteristics of The Boarding School, through describing why it was not as readily accepted as Foster’s previous novel.

            The one thing I felt the critic overlooked in the article was Foster’s own education and how that affected her opinions on female education as displayed in her novels.

This article is significant to my research, because I want the focus of my paper to be on the affect of this female author on a formerly male dominion, and how she subtly achieved this by; not over publishing, and providing a female viewpoint on education through the structure of her novel, The Boarding School. I also want my paper to explore what about this time in the eighteenth century that prevented the novel from being readily accepted by society, when Foster’s previous novel was very popular by comparison (The article states that 19 editions were printed). The article also gave me insight to the style of writing Foster employs by comparing her two novels. The most compelling points in the article were those concerning the men Foster influenced and the manor in which her novels were accepted by the society in which she lived.

Rhetorical Analysis

Amanda Ramirez

Rhetorical Analysis

 2/13/2011

The first things listed in the front matter of the book are the names of both the Author and the Printers. Hannah Foster’s name is first, preceding her date of birth and death. Thomas & Andrews (the printers) are preceded by Boston, the main city of publication and are followed by the number of pages in the book and the year of publication. The fact that the book was published in such a prominent city leads me to believe that the novel was written for the higher class and had prestigious ratings.

The main title page states the title and gives a longer, alternate title, “Lessons of a Preceptors to her pupils: consisting of Information, Instruction, and for the character of young ladies.” Beneath this title is a caption stating that letters by pupils have been added to the text. The author is then introduced to the reader as “a Lady of Massachusetts.” Due to the fact that the book is dedicated, “To the young ladies of American,” I believe that the author’s introduction as a Lady of Massachusetts gives her more credibility to write advice to young ladies.

It appears from this title that the society in which the novel was printed valued women of virtuous principles and innocent, docile mindsets. Foster is taking the accepted values for women and is integrating the idea of the value of education. This creates a radical idea in a comfortable setting for the reader, which, in my opinion is why the book was printed in Boston and in so many other cities as I learned on the database called worldcat. The first page of the novel begins by looking at “Mrs. Williams, the virtuous relist of a respectable clergyman.” A virtuous woman was the ideal of the late 1700’s when the book was printed. Foster wisely introduces the acceptable society social norm before integrating her ideas of education. The young women of the boarding school are described by Foster as “initiated into the polite accomplishments, which embellish virtue and soften the cares of human life.” Foster uses these descriptions to praise the work of education to women. Good

There are no illustrations in the front matter of the book, but below the author’s introduction it repeats that the novel was printed in Boston and gives the printer names. Below this it states who sold the books; it was sold by I. Thomas and E. T. Andrews (the printers), and C. Bingham, by Penniman in Albany. The caption also states that it was sold by other booksellers in Boston and that the printers also sold the book in Baltimore along with Buttler.

The dedication, which follows the title pages, states the vitality of “the many advantages of a good education.” The author does not however, act as though education is the only thing worth achieving. Foster goes on to discuss that virtues and principles contribute to the “foundation of a useful and happy life.” She points out that these virtuous principles are best when impressed into young and “docile” minds.

Preliminary Bibliography

Amanda Ramirez

Preliminary Bibliography

Emerson, Amanda. "The Early American Novel: Charles Brockden Brown's Fictitious Historiography." Novel: A Forum on Fiction 40.1/2 (2007): 125-50. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.

Jarenski, Shelly. “The Voice of the Preceptress: female education in and as the seduction noble.” JMMLA. 2004 spring; 37(1): 56-68

MLA International Bibliography, p. 301 2004, volume 1, classified listings. [10435] [Treatment of women’s education; seduction compared to foster, Hannah Webster: The Coquette.]

Lang, Jessica. “The Novel and the Conservative: the politics of early American women’s fiction. ”DAIA. 2004 apr;64 (10):3675-76. Brandeis U, 2004. DA 3107609. MLA International Bibliography, p. 301 2004, volume 1, classified listings. [10436] [Relationship to conservatism in American politics compared to Foster, Hannah Webster.]

Pettengil, Claire. "Sisterhood in a Separate: Female Friendship in Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette and The Boarding School." Early American Literature 27.3 (1992): 185. Academic Search Premier. Web. 219 Feb. 2011.

Shurter, Robert L. "Mrs. Hannah Webster Foster and the Early American Novel." American Literature 4.3 (2002): 306. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Feb. 2011.

Shearin, Gloria Aligood. “Women and Rhetoric in the Republic of Letters.”

DAIA. 2001 Nov; 62(5): 1823. U of South Carolina, 2001. DA3013451

MLA International Bibliography p. 239. 2004 [8265]  

Rhetoric compared to Foster, Hannah Webster; The coquette.]

Key words I used:

Hanna Webster Foster

The Boarding school

American Novel

American novel, women

Education

The themes that were closely related to my text were the themes of education and women’s domestic treatment. The scholarly materials I found in the MLA International Bibliography related Hannah Webster Foster to another novel she  has written, (The Coquette) rather than The Boarding School, which was much harder to locate outside of the library databases and online journals. I know now that I want to find the connection between this novel and it’s affect on the education system of it’s time and also that I will need to look at more databases rather than bibliographies to find sources directly related to my text. I learned how to use the MLA International Bibliography, and I feel very accomplished and much more knowledgeable in the research field. It took me a lot of time to figure out what I was looking for, and I had a bit of trouble figuring out the Library of Congress Subject Heading Guide. So although I am more confident with MLA, I need to put more work into working the databases and the Library of Congress Subject Heading Guide.

Artifact Inventory

Research Project Artifact Inventory  AML 4300  Scholar Amanda Ramirez

Due date:  1/28/11 or before

As early American scholars seeking to analyze the works of Judith Sargent Murray and Susanna Rowson

and authors of this period, we must first understand the text as a material artifact, an object that circulated

in and had meaning for specific readers who lived in a particular socio-cultural moment.  By considering

the text as an artifact, we draw closer to understanding how the text functioned in its original context. 

While we may be unable to travel to archives in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, we can look at

digitized or microfilm images of the original objects and learn about how particular texts looked, felt, and

circulated.  To that end, our initial research activities will introduce us to our chosen texts as material

objects.

· Using the following bibliographies and databases, complete a title and author search for your selected

text, and answer the questions in the chart below as fully as you can.    

o Evans digital database (for texts published before 1800);

o Shaw-Shoemaker print bibliography, Second Series (post-1800 texts Z1215.S482) 

o APS (American Periodicals Series) digital database

o American Prose Fiction 1774-1850 (aka Wright American Fiction; Indexes to microfilm

collection, v. 1-3, in Circulation Dept (Z1033.M6A522). UCF has  MF-1515 (174 reels) v.1

(1774-1850).

· If possible, locate an electronic copy of the first edition of your text and download it as a PDF.  If the

text is available online, please include the link here:   (for example, you may find it at Project

Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page ).  

· Please check the reprint history of your text in Shaw-Shoemaker even if your text is published before

1801.  

Using MLA documentation style, provide the full and correct citation for your novel here.  If a modern

edition of your text exists (published by a reputable and/or scholarly press), please provide that citation

also.  Remember to note the editor of the modern edition and which print edition the modern edition uses.   

Inventory question Answer Speculation:  What might this information suggest about this text?  For example, what does the name and location of the printer tell you?  What other kinds of texts did this printer

publish?

1.  When, where, and by whom was your text first printed? 

 The Boarding School was first printed in Boston in 1798, by E.T. Andrews and Isaiah Thomas.

2. How often was your text reprinted?  List all of the reprints before 1850.  Do not confuse dates of publisher’s/printer’s birth and death with reprint dates.

  It does not appear that the book was reprinted. 1798 was the original publication date and this is the only date that appears in the databases and National indexes that I have examined .

3.  What was the actual size of your text in inches or centimeters?  What information can you find about its

physical presence, binding, etc.?  Do you think it was expensive or inexpensive?  

 The original text was 252 pages and 18 cm.

I cannot tell anything about the binding so I am unsure how expensive the book was. I know leather was more expensive, but there was no evidence to support the binding.

4.  View the original title page using the digital database or microfilm.  What is included there?1  Transcribe the exact words of all of the information listed on the title page. Or, make a PDF of this page if possible.

            I am including a PDF of the title page. The title page includes the title, a brief description of the purpose of the book , and the names of the printers.

 

5.  If there is more than one edition, compare the title pages.  Note any differences here and keep PDFs of these pages, if possible.

  The appears to be only one edition, but it was printed in several major cities; Boston, Worcester, Albany, and Baltimore .

   6.  What miscellaneous front matter is included?  Describe it:

· Frontispiece

· Engravings

· Preface

· Dedication- There is a dedication in the front matter, dedicating the text to the ladies of America.

· Other

Keep PDFs of these pages.

 

7.  How long is your text?  Is it broken into volumes and chapters or is it one big chunk?  How many volumes and/or chapters?  Is the print large and easy to read or dense, with many words on each page and lines close together.

The book is 252 pages long, and is broken into sections that state the day of the week and letters. The text is relatively easy to read as the words are not too small or too close together, making it seem more accessible.

 

8.  What back matter exists (following the end of a text, usually signified by the  word “finis”)?  Sometimes lists of subscribers or other works from this printer or bookseller are mentioned here.

Keep PDFs of these pages.

The back matter of the text consists of a short list of sources; the author, printers, and publication city.

9.  Is there a modern, scholarly edition of your text?  (Scholarly editions are distinguished from mere copies of the book that are bound but lack scholarly apparatus.)  

 There is no modern edition as of now, but I was informed by Professor Logan that there is a new edition coming out soon with Broadview.

9.  Given all of the above, what might you wish to include as you think about creating a virtual/physical site for your project (your blog)?  

In my blog, I want to stress the fact that The Boarding School was published in several major cities and was hence, a popular book. I also want to include what made this book such a worthwhile read for its time once I have read the entire text.