36 Kennedy Hagner – Age of Exploitation

Kennedy Hagner is graduating in Spring 2024 with a BA in English with a focus in Professional and Technical Writing, as well as a minor in Creative Writing.  Kennedy completed this final paper for her English Literature through the Eyes of Animals class with Dr. Clapp-Itnyre in the Spring of 2023.  Professor Alisa Clapp-Itnyre notes, “This was *wonderfully* written and revised. All the changes greatly improved it! She had and used some really good sources from class and those that you found on your own.”

Age of Exploitation

If we as humans are only animals ourselves, how do we justify our superiority over the non-human creatures we share this planet with? In considering the relationships between humans and non-human beings, the concept of anthropomorphizing animals seems quite complex, because while applying human characteristics to animals may help many humans empathize with their issues and show more compassion, it also denies the animal’s own innate nature and needs. I think we developed the idea that we were superior to animals because we existed at the top of the food-chain for so long, hunting and killing animals to feed and clothe ourselves. In the beginnings of British civilization, animals were considered mostly as human symbols or savages. As time has gone on, many humans continue to objectify animals all together and forget that they are sentient beings that can experience suffering just like we do. We are able to see shifts in perspective from the earliest British text of “Brunanburh” to Black Beauty. In this paper, I will argue that although there have been improvements in the treatment of animals over the course of British history, the literature proves that most of society valued animals only for their use to human beings, leading many animals to be exploited whether for companionship or labor. It is worth noting that the many of the first writers that chose to write from an animal perspective were women, who were also being exploited well into the 19th century.

To examine this transition in societal attitudes, we will start in the year 937 with”Battle of Brunanburh”, which depicts the triumph felt by Anglo-Saxons after defeating the Scots and the Vikings in a brutally violent battle. The poem celebrates righteous violence in war and refers to the enemies of the Anglo-Saxons multiple times as “the hated ones…” (line 10). The most significant mention of animals is found in lines 59 through 64, “The corpse-sharers, shadowy coated / they left behind them: the black raven / with its horny beak; the brown eagle / of white tail-feather, to feast on the slain / greedy war-hawk; and the grey one / the wolf of the weald”. It appears the animals are used to symbolize the brutality and violence of war as they devour the bodies of not only the enemies of King Athelstan but also his own fallen men in the wake of their great victory. I do think it is important to note the acknowledgement of each animal’s most vicious qualities, as if they too carried weapons to the battlefield. The animals are depicted as intimidating and dark figures that are left behind in the aftermath after the humans create carnage in their own environment and then go home afterward. It is almost as if when the Anglo-Saxons ride home, they are leaving the animals to clean up their mess. It is worth noting that this glorification of violence was seen in Old English society, which was very much patriarchal and would remain so through the 19th century.

After the Middle Ages in the 17th century, animals were not so much seen as mindless savages and riding on horseback became essential in British society. While there was considerable progress in animal rights over the course of the 17th and 18th Century, it is still important to recognize animals were primarily recognized for their benefit to human beings. Evidence of this societal attitude can be found in Johnathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels,

Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock, Isaac Thompson’s “The Lapdog”, and “Hunting of the Hare” by Margaret Cavendish, and within utilitarian writings of Jeremy Bentham. While each writer displays different personal beliefs or attitudes, they all allude to the human societal disposition to put our own needs above those of non-human animals.

In “The Lapdog”, Thompson objectifies pet dogs by saying, “Securely on her Lap it lies, / Or freely gazes on her Eyes / To touch her Breast, may there be Bliss / And unreprov’d, may snatch a Kiss” (16-19). Here, even the companionship between humans and animals is sexualized, corrupted, and made into a joke. Instead of considering the thoughts or feelings of a dog as its own being, this genre of poetry objectifies women and animals at the same time by focusing on the affections a man wishes he should be receiving instead. There is some amount of jealousy, and inference that women could only have a strong bond with their pet dog if they are trying to replace the affections of a man. This type of poetry is not only evidence of the exploitation of animals in British society but also the presence of the patriarchy and absence of the the women’s voice.

Similarly, in Rape of the Lock, we primarily consider the plight of animals through the representation of Belinda’s dog, Shock. Shock does not play a large role in the story line, but he does symbolize the lapdog lyric and that his sole purpose is to serve his master Belinda. On Page 6 of Canto I, Pope writes, “He said: when Shock, who thought she slept too long / Leap’d up, and wak’d his Mistress with his Tongue” (115-116). Shock seems to serve as her alarm clock and even the way he wakes her alludes to the lapdog lyric jokes about the intimacy between women and their pets. There is a clear and disturbing sexual innuendo to Shock’s presence in Belinda’s bed. This also is demeaning to women, which Umma Salma writes of in this feminist and anti-colonial criticism of the poem, “This indicates that to the patriarchy and its by-product, imperialism, female – whether it is real or metaphorical – is the object to be desired and possessed. And as the objects of that masculine desire woman and the Empire have the same doom – rape”.

Alternatively, we begin to see evidence of human self-awareness in Part 4 of Gulliver’s Travels, where there is great irony in Gulliver’s relationship with the rational horses, or Huoyhnhmns, he meets. Prior to his travels, it is clear that Gulliver thought of himself and other humans as superior beings, but upon being introduced to Huoyhnhmn culture, is greatly humbled and realizes the value of non-human animal design. In the Kronsadt Revolt, they point out the way the master Huoyhnhmn mocks even the physical form of human beings. Swift writes, “…he thought I differed for the worse. That my nails were of no use to either my fore or hinder feet; as to my fore-feet, he could not properly call them by that name, for he never observed me walk upon them; they were too soft to bear the ground… He then began to find fault with the other parts of my body, the flatness of my face, the prominence of my nose, my eyes placed directly in front, so that I could not look on either side without turning my head; that I was not able to feed myself without lifting one of my forefeet to my mouth” (261-262). When the master points out all of Gulliver’s physical deficiencies, this satire is useful in pointing out the way humans only consider animals on the basis of their usefulness toward humans. We also consider them irrational or inferior because we compare them to our own traits and qualities. This rejection of the human form makes Gulliver question everything has ever understood about human society. Swift’s choice to show this reversal in attitudes between the horse and human does demonstrate that society was progressing in the way  he is able to point out human hypocrisy. He elevates the horses in his story to demonstrate this point to the reader. Even Swift’s selection of a horse to be the rational animal in the book furthers this reasoning, according to “The Natural History of the Huoyhnhnms: Noble Horses in Gulliver’s Travels” by Bryan Alkemeyer. Alkemeyer asserts that the horse was chosen due to its unique function during the 18th century, where the horse was considered, “… the noblest animal of the inferior world” (2). English society during this time could not have functioned without the use of horses, and so they are respected most on the basis of their service to human causes. Mankind continues to exploit horses even with this respect because they are still not considering horses on the basis of their own thoughts and feelings. Alkemeyer writes, “Gulliver’s Travels is published at a time of wide disparity between admiration of the horse as the noblest animal and the exploitation of horses for menial labor” (2). Even this satirical commentary on the hypocrisy of human beings that in some ways pays homage to the honor of horses, objectifies them for their usefulness by selecting the horse to be noble rather than another “non-useful creature”.. And in turn, Gulliver himself is objectified by the equine people who he would rather be accepted by than his own “yahoo” people.

Also disrupting the pre-existing pattern of human superiority over animals was Jeremy Bentham, the father of utilitarianism, who made great efforts toward animal rights that cannot be understated. He believed that whatever would benefit the most beings, including non-human animals, was the most moral and just action to take. He did consider the thoughts and feelings of animals, writing “a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day, or a week or even a month old”. He represents the great amount of progress that took place in society’s consideration of animals between the 17th and 18th centuries.

It is, however, vital to consider, that even Bentham prioritized the needs of human beings above those of non-human animals on the basis of animal’s usefulness to humans. He was in favor of animal testing, writing, “I never have seen, nor ever can see any objection to the putting of dogs and other inferior animals to pain, in the way of medical experiment, when that experiment has a determinate object, beneficial to mankind, accompanied with a fair prospect of the accomplishment of it” (Canvas Page: 18th Century Non-Fiction: Jeremy Bentham). He refers to animals as inferior in this section, and although he adamantly speaks against needless cruelty toward any being, is in complete support of the using of animals for human gain, despite the pain and suffering it may cause toward the animal.

There is an earlier 17th century poet, who has written poems that seem to be an exception or break the mold of this objectification. Margaret Cavendish, who is said to have cared greatly about the animals on her estate, wrote “The Hunting of the Hare” (1653), which is told from the perspective of a rabbit that is being hunted for sport. The poem tells the tale of a rabbit who is running from men with guns and a pack of dogs, skillfully evading them and being afraid before ultimately being caught and eaten. Cavendish makes a commentary on human society as a whole, writing, “Making their Stomacks, Graves, which full they fill / with Murther’d Bodios, that in sport they kill / Yet Man doth think himself so gentle, mild / When he of Creatures is most cruell wild / And he is so Proud, thinks onely he shall live / That God a God-like Nature did him give” (80-85). Here, Cavendish rejects hunting culture and points out human hypocrisy. She is saying that although humans consider themselves so gentle, many of their practices are needlessly cruel and barbaric, and that human beings are or only animals, or creatures themselves. In 17th and 18th Century prose and poetry, this poem stands out as an objection to the objectification of animals and considers them in their own right. It is worth noting that Cavendish is so unique and bold in her empathy in part because she is a woman.

While there was significant progress made between the 17th and 18th centuries in the plight for animal rights, most authors reflected society in considering animals only in their usefulness to humans. Animals like dogs and horses, because of the service they provided to humans, received the most respect in that society. Even one of the earliest animal rights advocates, Jeremy Bentham, was in support of animal testing for human benefit. 17th Century poet Margaret Cavendish stands out significantly as an exception to this rule, pointing out human hypocrisy and empathizing with animals as fellow creatures rather than for what they can offer to human society.

In the 19th century, there was a major societal shift with the introduction of Darwin’s theories and their influence on British literature. Darwin discusses the issue of overpopulation and the struggle for existence as mentioned in Chapter 2 of Origin of Species,“A struggle for existence inevitably follows from the high rate at which all organic beings tend to increase. Every being, which during its natural lifetime produces several eggs or seeds, must suffer destruction during some period of its life, and during some season or occasional year, otherwise, on the principle of geometrical increase, its numbers would quickly become so inordinately great that no country could support the product” (Darwin 2). This supports the idea that the goal of a species as a whole is to create offspring in order to survive. (Video of Ron Itnyre, “Darwin” Canvas Page). Without environmental controls or struggles in place, a species would create too many offspring thus overwhelming the natural order and causing damage to its own ecosystem.

Darwin’s ideas impressed upon society the importance of each species in an ecosystem, challenging the authority of humans as superior beings. He implies that all animals, including humans, have the same goals in mind, and that each species is naturally competitive. He writes, “It is good thus to try in our imagination to give any form some advantage over another. Probably in no single instance should we know what to do, so as to succeed. It will convince us of our ignorance on the mutual relations of all organic beings; a conviction as necessary, as it seems to be difficult to acquire” (Darwin Ch.2). He also recognizes the ignorance of the human race and how much we still have yet to learn about the natural world and our place within it.

In Chapter 3, Darwin writes “Grouse, if not destroyed at some period of their lives, would increase in countless numbers; they are known to suffer largely from birds of prey; and hawks are guided by eyesight to their prey,—so much so, that on parts of the Continent persons are warned not to keep white pigeons, as being the most liable to destruction”. This refers to the slow adaptation of species to change their appearance, specifically in color, in order to best protect themselves within their own respective environments. Each color of the animals mentioned allows it to camouflage itself. This is supported further by the study of the

Manchester Moth. The Manchester moths were originally mostly white, they blended into white tree bark to avoid being eaten or seen by predators. During the industrial revolution, there was so much soot and pollution in the air that it darkened the trees. The once protected white moths stood out and were left vulnerable, leaving the few dark moths to adapt and reproduce. Over time, most of the moths in Manchester became dark to adapt to their environment because the dark moths were surviving. When environmental regulations were put in place that reduced the amount of soot in the air, the trees were able to stay white which led to more white moths reproducing again.

Darwin’s theories threatened the literal interpretation of the Christian creation story, as well as the spirituality of nature that was recognized by Romantics of the era who believed in the spirituality of nature. Romantic poetry utilized nature in its expression of the human condition, while Victorian poetry demonstrated much of the effects of industrial society on the natural world. While the plight for animal rights had been growing in the 18th century, there was still a sense of superiority most people felt over their animal counterparts. However, in the 19th century it became more common for writers to show an appreciation for nature and empathize with them in their own right, even speaking from their perspectives, like in Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

Romantic poetry became most prevalent in the early part of the 19th Century. Famous poets such as William Blake, William Woodsworth, Samuel Coleridge, and Lord Byron wrote with a respect and reverence for nature that had been largely unseen before. John Keats wrote in his poem “On the Grasshopper and Crickets”, “The Poetry of earth is never dead / When all the birds are faint with the hot sun / And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run / From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead / That is the grasshopper’s – he takes the lead” (1-5). In this poem, Keats seems to celebrate the interconnectedness of all natural life. He pays homage and respect to a creature as small as the grasshopper, and celebrates the gift of the grasshopper’s song to the world. We as humans are not using the grasshopper for any practical purpose, but he is able to appreciate the beauty of this insect within its natural habitat.

During the Victorian period, many writers were growing in empathy and support for kindness toward animals but they were also dealing with the many changes brought on by newly industrial society. Because of this major shift in society, many of the novels and poems written during this time had a much darker subtext, as we find in famous novels like Oliver Twist, as we see with the dog Bullseye that is abused and subjected to cruelty by an evil human master. All of the poetry from this time was not dark or focused on industrialism, as the Victorian poet

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote a poem of admiration for her dog, writing in “To Flush, My Dog”, “Therefore to this dog will I / Tenderly not scornfully / Render praise and favour ! / With my hand upon his head / Is my benediction said / Therefore, and for ever” (78-84). While the dog does serve a purpose as her personal companion, he is not being utilized for labor or any other practical purpose. Barrett is simply expressing love and empathy for her fellow animal, appreciating traits and features about him that make him unique.

Mary Howitt is another Victorian poet who empathizes with animals in her poem, “The Cry of the Animals”. Howitt writes, “They brand us, and they beat us; they spill our blood like water; / We die that they may live, a million in a day! / Oh, that they had mercy! for in their dens of slaughter /They afflict us and affright us, and do far worse than slay. / We are made to be their servants—we know it and complain not; / We bow our necks in meekness the galling yoke to bear; / Their heaviest toil we lighten, the meanest we disdain not; / In all their sweat and labour we take a willing share” (5-12). Howitt chooses to write from the perspective of the animals themselves, to help the reader better understand and sympathize with their cause. The poem is brutally honest, and brings to light the cruelty brought on by the industrial revolution. Animals at this point are not the only ones suffering “In all their sweat and labour”, and it seems Howitt is trying to appeal to the people of her time, many of whom would have been working in poor conditions within factories or workhouses, even as children. The poem criticizes the slaughter and exploitation of animals for human gain, which is primarily what animals had been used for prior to this century. Leila Mcneil writes of the feminist subtext within this poem, saying “Howitt codes animals as female with their capacity to love and the association between animals and women with domestic servitude. She goes even further with this metaphor in the image of the yoke, which had been used by other writers, like Mary Coleridge, to illustrate the subjugation of women. In contrast, she identifies the abusers specifically as men and refers to them as masters of the earth whose reason and learning fail to make them see animals worthy of moral consideration”.

Horses were still widely used during the Victorian period and although they were some of the most respected animals in British society, they too were subjected to cruelty that was beginning to be recognized. Anna Sewell wrote Black Beauty from the perspective of a horse to demonstrate to people the hypocrisy and cruelty present in widely accepted practices for raising horses. For example, Sewell tells the story of the horse Ginger who is left in a field after being spurred by a man, “I stood under an oak tree and watched, but no one came to catch me. The time went on, and the sun was very hot; the flies swarmed round me and settled on my bleeding flanks where the spurs had dug in. I felt hungry, for I had not eaten since the early morning, but there was not enough grass in that meadow for a goose to live on” (54). Wearing spurs was fairly common during this time period, and the depiction of the flies settling on Ginger’s wounds leaves the reader feeling sickened and unsettled.

There were many advancements made in the 18th Century for the rights of animals, especially by the utilitarian movement that advocated against needless cruelty. However, during the 19th century, it became more and more common for people to place themselves beside animals as fellow beings within nature, and to appreciate them as what they are rather than how they can be used or exploited. Anna Sewell, Elizabeth Barret Browning, Mary Howitt, and John Keats all displayed this empathy and reverence for non-human animals that set them apart from the writers that came before them. The women in literature throughout British history such as Sewell, Howitt, Browning, and Cavendish all were pivotal in calling for the true, purely motivated empathy of humans toward non-human animals, and in turn advocated for the liberation of women themselves. This newer empathy in British society did not only value animals for their human utility, but for their very lives. This shared oppression between women and animals greatly aided British society to shift from the very patriarchal, brutal view of animals as seen in “Brunanburh”, to novels like Black Beauty that spoke directly from the heart and soul of a horse. This discourse greatly improved the lives of both animals and women, who were able to vote in England before we achieved suffrage in the United States.

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