In what ways are the inhabitants of Laputa monomaniacs?

Question: In what ways are the inhabitants of Laputa monomaniacs?

Quote 1: “The idée fixe is an infinite source of comfort; not only does it provide unshakable boundaries, but it lures the subject into a sense of agency” (Van Zuylen 6).

Quote 2: “It seems the minds of these people are so taken up with intense speculations, that they neither can speak, nor attend to the discourses of others, without being roused by some external taction upon the organs of speech and hearing…” (Swift GT Book III).

In Book III of Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathon Swift creates the floating island of Laputa. Here, the inhabitants are completely consumed with mathematics and music; mathematics being a fixed science indisputable in nature and music being an art that one can create to fit their taste. Monomania hinges on both of the aforementioned ideas—perceived reality should be stagnant (mathematics) and created around an individual’s ideal version of their world (music). The first quote mentions “idée fixe” or a topic, person, or possession that one obsesses over and ultimately becomes their muse. For the people of Laputa their idée fixe’s are mathematics and music. Mathematics and music provide the comfort and structure (mentioned as important in the first quote) necessary for the people of Laputa’s monomaniac lifestyles. It is important to note that Van Zuylen uses words such as “infinite” and “unshakable” to describe how an idée fixe provides comfort and boundaries. By using these adjectives, it is clear to see how, when something is ever-present and ever-lasting in someone’s mind, a person can become absolutely absorbed in their obsession with said idée fixe—as seen by the people of Laputa in the second quote. There are also some people on Laputa that focus their efforts on astronomy, but are “ashamed to own it publically” likely because space and astronomical bodies are unpredictable and constantly in motion which does sit well with the monomaniac ideas the inhabitants of Laputa hold (Swift GT Book III).

I found it interesting that Van Zuylen states that an object of obsession lures a subject into a sense of agency—the word “sense” being key. We see this in Gulliver’s Travels via the second quote, the “intense speculations” the people are having on their topic of interest allows them to answer personal questions and make the world around them more finite which displays agency, but they need attendants to remind them to interact with people and engage in the world outside of their idée fixe; hence, why the people have a “sense” of agency instead of truly autonomous control of all facets of their world.  

First Paper Thesis, Outline, and Body Paragraph

Thesis: Autonomy is lost as one becomes consumed by curiosity.

Outline:

1.     Intro

2.     BP 1-2

a.     Robinson Crusoe

                                               i.     Overwhelming curiosity compels him to the sea time after time

                                              ii.     No longer making decisions based on logic

                                            iii.     Everything around him becomes a construct of his mind versus reality

3.     BP 3-4

a.     Fantomina

                                               i.     Uses personas starkly different than her own in order to explore her curiosities

                                              ii.     When she reveals herself she’s punished

                                            iii.     Power dynamics/social constructs influence what she is/can be curious about. Ultimately still owes a man for her new knowledge.

4.     BP 5-6

a.     C.U.M. Smith & Supplementary texts

                                               i.     Connecting Crusoe and Fantomina

1.     Similarity in lack of autonomy

2.     Differences in how their curiosity is viewed

a.     Crusoe = fortune

b.     Fantomina = sent away

                                              ii.     Incorporating Eighteenth Century ideas about curiosity

1.     Passions that do not depend on thought

5.     Conclusion

                       

           

Body Paragraph:

            “But I that was born to be my own Destroyer, could no more resist the Offer than I could restrain my first rambling Designs, when my Father’s good Counsel was lost upon me.” (Defoe 31).  Robinson Crusoe becomes completely consumed by a curiosity that continuously compels him to endanger his well-being.  “Good Counsel” in this quote represents reason and logic. Reason and logic being lost upon him is an interesting idea that suggests not just that neither had an impact on him, but that reason and logic were a complete waste of time in his current mental state. Crusoe completely abandons autonomous decision making when imparting the idea to the reader that he was born into this life; he has no choice, no way to change his course in life away from a constant cycle of self-destruction. The words used by Defoe, such as “rambling” and “no more resist” or “restrain,” create an image of someone who is admitting defeat and allowing nature to pull him towards the future that is fated for him rather than one shaped by autonomy. 

How does the protagonist in Fantomina embody early feminist thoughts on female curiosity?

Question: How does the protagonist in Fantomina embody early feminist thoughts on female curiosity?

Quote 1: “This excited a Curiosity in her to know in what Manner these Creatures were address’d:--She way young, a Stranger to the World, and consequently to the Dangers of it; and having no Body in Town, at that Time, to whom she was oblig’d to be accountable for her Actions, did every Thing as her Inclinations or Humours render’d most agreeable to her: Therefore thought it not in the least a Fault to put in practice a little Whim which came immediately into her Head, to dress herself as near as she could in the Fashion of those Women who make sale of their Favours, and set herself in the Way of being accosted as such a one, having at the Time no other Aim, than the Gratification of an innocent Curiosity.” (Fantomina)

Quote 2: “…English culture portrays curiosity as the mark of a threatening ambition, an ambition that takes the form of a perceptible violation of species and categories: an ontological transgression that is registered empirically. Curiosity is seeing your way out of your place. It is looking beyond.” (Benedict 2)

While reading Fantomina it is clear that it is a work stemming from early feminist ideas as it immediately delves into gender roles in regard to power/dominance and the “virgin, mother, whore” classification of women in the Eighteenth century. Throughout the novel the nameless protagonist is portrayed to Beauplaisir, the man she initially lusts after, as either a virgin, mother, or whore. Beauplaisir believes he holds all the power in each of his sexual encounters with the protagonist, yet it is actually she who has made these situations come to be and is essentially playing puppeteer to Beauplaisir’s actions. What drives the actions of Fantomina’s protagonist is the relationship she has between curiosity and desire. In the second quote from the Benedict reading, curiosity is described as a “threatening ambition.” Fantomina’s protagonist is more than just a girl looking to discover sexual relationships; she’s driven to get what she wants from her object through elaborate manipulation. A woman manipulating a man was surely an idea that received backlash at this point in history, but it serves to emphasize the power women held and the magnitude of what curiosity can create. Curiosity was viewed in the Eighteenth Century as an exploration for knowledge that had the potential to completely alter the order that had been established in society by creating new knowledge. Having a woman’s curiosity alter a man’s world is a concept explored throughout Fantomina.

It is interesting that in the first quote the protagonist’s curiosity is described as “an innocent curiosity.” This idea of innocence and the protagonist’s endeavor being “a little whim” juxtaposed with her wanting to embrace the discourse of a prostitute emphasizes the idea of the time that female curiosity was trivial because it was lustful and self-indulgent in nature. The author having the protagonist’s assumedly first quest for knowledge of the unknown being one that she must sell and lose part of herself to obtain also speaks to the relationship between women and curiosity; that the protagonist still owes a man in order to have fulfilled her curiosity. By refusing payment after sex with Beauplaisir, the author is communicating her belief that women can experience curiosity independent of men.  

Does What One’s Mind Construe As Reality Outweigh Reason?

Question: Does what one’s mind construe as reality outweigh reason?

Quote 1: “O what ridiculous Resolution Men take, when possess’d with Fear! It deprives them of the Use of those Means which Reason offers for their Relief.” (Defoe 115-116)

Quote 2: “The idols and false notions which are now in possession of the human understanding, and have taken deep root therein, not only so beset men’s minds that truth can hardly find entrance, but even after entrance obtained, they will again in the very instauration of the sciences meet and trouble us… ” (Bacon PE 41)

            At this point in the novel, the protagonist, Robinson Crusoe, has found what appears to be a single human footprint on the shore of his, otherwise thought to be, uninhabited island. This imprint of a foot in the sand sends Robinson Crusoe reeling into two years of what could be argued as delusional paranoia. From the first quote the reader can tell that Crusoe, when looking back on his actions post-footprint, knows that they were excessive and absurd. Later he comments how if he had never seen the footprint he would have continued living on the island in the calm he had created there for himself; Crusoe completely altered his reality and became “possessed” by fear prior to any proof that he was actually in danger.  This corresponds with the idols and false notions Francis Bacon discusses in the second quote and throughout his essay “The New Science.” Fear most definitely can be understood as a false notion – something that lacks concrete evidence of existence or reality. The events that have shaped a person’s life will ultimately shape what their notions are of the world around them. Crusoe has lived a life of misfortune; thus, finding a footprint in the sand immediately turns into a symbol of impending doom versus one of salvation.

Both quotes use the term possession which speaks to the idea that a person no longer has agency over what they believe is reality: making any sort of logic obsolete. What is interesting about the second quote is how Bacon states that, even if the “truth” begins to resonate with someone, inquisition of nature will ultimately make one have to analyze the validity of what they think they now know to be true and reevaluate their notions once more. Crusoe goes back and forth several times about what he believes the footprint is from and what finding it means for his situation. Even when he seems to be using logic and reason to deduce a present state free from harm he continues to repeatedly analyze his situation and go back to believing in a reality that is aligned with his fears. 

Does A Person Have Neurophysiological Control Over Their Compulsions? Relating Robinson Crusoe to Brain and Mind in the 'Long' 18th Century

Marisa Martini

ENG 364

Weekly Response 9/3/13

Question: Does a person have neurophysiological control over their compulsions?

Quote 1: “But I that was born to be my own Destroyer, could no more resist the Offer than I could restrain my first rambling Designs, when my Father’s good Counsel was lost upon me.” (Defoe 31)

Quote 2: “ ‘As for the movements of our passions… it is… very clear that they do not depend on thought, because they often occur in spite of us.’ ” (C.U.M. Smith 17)

While reading Robinson Crusoe it becomes clear from the very beginning that Robinson Crusoe’s desire for a life of exploration at sea cannot be thwarted by reason or logic. His father explains to him the comfort of a “middle station” lifestyle and the inevitable dangers that will ensue by venturing out to sea. Robinson Crusoe displays mental competence and a full understanding of his father’s logic, but, simultaneously, knows how unsatisfied he will be if he does not fulfill his compulsion to go to the sea. It seems reasonable to assume that if one knows the risks associated with the action they are considering taking they would steer clear of doing what could potentially be dangerous. Instead, even after experiencing horrific storms, pirates, slavery, shipwrecks, and countless other near-death experiences, Robinson Crusoe voyages to the sea time after time. In the first quote above, Robinson Crusoe expresses his inability to resist or restrain from his inexplicable desires that draw him to the sea. He is, as he says, born to be self-destructive, reaffirming the idea that he could not be deterred from his desires no matter how deadly they may be in nature. A theme begins to emerge: even against one’s better judgment, their compulsions will ultimately drive their actions. The Brain and Mind in the ‘Long’ Eighteenth Century reading focuses on how the nervous system plays a role in our movement, the transmission of our thoughts, and the conversion of thought to action. In the quote above, Descartes wrote how the passions within our soul are not interconnected with rational thought since our tendency is to completely disregard what we know would be the better choice in order to follow our passions. This idea from the Enlightenment period coincides with the actions taken by Defoe’s protagonist, Robinson Crusoe; Robinson Crusoe’s “rambling Designs” are these inexplicable, illogical passions. Defoe is acknowledging that something else that is not neurophysiologically controlled is at play when it comes to making decisions based on one’s compulsions – something that may be psychological and motivated by feelings and emotions rather than logic and reason.