Lab Report: Annotating a Page from the Stanford Visit: Kiersten Fritzsche

Annotated Pages - Source Material

1. Embedded Google Drive/PDF Link (above^ this embedded part may not work)

2. Link to PDF in my Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5KwkePxpdnCMGhfUjg3SHVIeGs/view?usp=sharing

3. Images of PDFs

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Page 14 Annotations

 

Works Cited

Hanaford, A. Phebe. The Life and Writings of Charles Dickens: A Woman's Memorial Volume. B. B. Russell, 1871.

Holy Bible, The. Psalms 45, 1-17. King James Version, 1611, pp 1258-1259, www.gasl.org/refbib/Bible_King_James_Version.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2017.

Hood, Thomas. “To C. Dickens, ESQ. / On His Departure for America.” The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, vol. 64, 1841 pp 217, goo.gl/k7vGmN. Accessed 10 April 2017.


Lawes, Carolyn J. “Capitalizing on Mother: John S.C. Abbott and Self-Interested Motherhood.” Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, pp. 343-395,

www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44525154.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2017.

Oxford English Dictionary. "Humour." goo.gl/5RsBge. Accessed 10 April 2017.

Oxford English Dictionary. “Pathos.” goo.gl/2hktIL. Accessed 10 April 2017.

Russell, B. B. “Lives of the Presidents of the United States Advertisement.” B. B. Russell, 1871.

White House. "The Presidents." www.whitehouse.gov/1600/Presidents. Accessed 11 April 2017.


Word Count Tools. wordcounttools.com/. Accessed 10 April 2017.

 

Reflection

The connection between aesthetics and ideology as apparent in Phebe A. Hanaford’s text, The Life and Writings of Charles Dickens: A Woman’s Memorial Volume, illuminates the relationship of gendered content and American authorship with chosen rhetoric and white space. While Hanaford’s novel attempts to encourage the adoration of Charles Dickens by women, the advertisement at the end of the novel alternatively appears to encourage and confirm male political power. The content of Hanaford’s text appeals to emotion and morality instead of encouraging female writers to become just as masterful as Charles Dickens. By contrast, the advertisement denotes a practicality in reading about the United States presidents in order to stay current in conversation but also through a connotation of derivative power. These concepts and constraints visible in the text represent extremely gendered ideology from the nineteenth century that does not entirely dissipate as time progresses.

          Since Hanaford crafts the source text as one written for women by a woman, the ideologies behind the biographical details prove to be feminized content as appropriate in a nineteenth century setting. Hanaford references Psalms out of context as an introductory quote to chapter two but also repeats the quote further down the page. The introductory quote seems to be an aesthetic choice depicting the authorial character of Dickens, but Hanaford provides the quotes contextual purpose later on. She states that Dickens “held ‘the pen of a ready writer;’ and was disposed to use it in the interests of morality and good order” (Hanaford 14). By utilizing this quote, Hanaford therefore states that Charles Dickens acts as a sort of chosen one, at least in terms of being the voice of the poor and the working class. She very efficiently and adeptly portrays him as an unsung hero, worthy of (feminine) praise over the course of this singular sentence. Hanaford also provides an appeal to the emotions, or ethos, in this chapter by pointing out Dickens’ use of “pathos and humor” in his texts. While Hanaford could focus on the realistic and descriptive view of London that Dickens assumes in his texts, she instead isolates his ability to inspire sadness for and pity towards his characters. In so doing, Hanaford explicitly ignores the often times grotesque reality of London’s poor, working class and focuses on the authorship of Dickens and the skill it takes to conjure emotions that would therefore appeal towards a nineteenth feminine reader. This focus allows the female reader to safely experience the struggles of the working class from afar without ever dirtying her hands.

          In the nineteenth century, white space in text and advertisements elucidates the opportunities present in America. While white space, or page space, translates to real estate which equates to income for publishers, Hanaford’s novel is nothing but sufficient in quantity of empty space. The first chapter page contains two inches of white space above with large left and right margins surrounding the text (Hanaford 14). The type is also set with double spaces following each sentence and an extra space between a word and a semicolon as well (Hanaford 14). This suggests that Hanaford herself or her publishers can afford the extra pages that result from white space bordering the text and advertisements. While novels, in general, allow for more white space than periodicals, utilizing a larger type (approximately comparable to a modern twelve point Times New Roman font) with seemingly no concern for tightened line spacing suggests that space is essentially a non-issue for author Hanaford and/or publisher B. B. Russell (Hanaford). By extension, the price of the biography in this format would likely be more expensive than a tightened version that requires fewer pieces of paper and less binding. The fact that Hanaford’s text exists in this format, however, suggests that there was a market and desire for it, regardless of paper/binding requirements and therefore relative price. This indicates there was an ability to afford the book, as well.

          Curiously, the content of advertisements in Hanaford’s biographical account of Charles Dicken’s life are aimed towards a distinctively American male audience. While the text itself comprises a primarily female space, the advertisements are clearly masculine in focus and aesthetic word choice. The advertisement for John S. C. Abbott’s text, Lives of the Presidents of the United States, proves no exception to this pattern. One of the advertisement’s headings states that Abbott’s work is a “book for every household in America” (Russell). While the term “household” suggests a feminine space due to the gendered responsibilities of the time, Abbott’s book is inherently directed towards a male audience (Russell). Furthermore, the Washington Chronicle utilizes the pronoun “him” in its review of the book and speaks of its practicality (Russell). The type of practicality mentioned refers to the appreciation of Abbott’s text by “a politician, newspaper editor, or intelligent citizen” (Russell). While the Washington Chronicle mentions two predominantly (or even solely) male careers (newspaper editing and being involvement in politics), the practicality of the likewise suggests a male audience. The novel’s categorization as practical necessitates real-life function and application of the text. Not only would United States presidents prove a socially relevant topic of conversation for most males, studying the lives of past presidents may aid a future president on his journey towards political power and greatness—an ability unavailable to women at the time.

 

Works Cited

Hanaford, Phebe A. The Life and Writings of Charles Dickens: A Woman’s Memorial Volume. B. B. Russell, 1871.


Russell, B. B. “Lives of the Presidents of the United States Advertisement.” B. B. Russell, 1871.