Sarah's Analysis of "The Solitude of Self"

Sarah Chestnut
Professor Spencer
Critical Analysis
31 October 2011
The Individual

“To deny political equality is to rob the ostracised of all self-respect.” Elizabeth Caddy Stanton’s farewell speech entitled “The Solitude of Self” marked the end of her twenty years as the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1892. The speech articulates the ideas of one of our nation’s earliest and most foremost feminists. Stanton herself admitted that this speech was the best piece she had ever written, and nearly 120 years later, I can agree that it is a remarkable piece of writing, despite a few flaws. Stanton is highly effective in convincing her audience by her use of appropriate examples that appeal to pathos, as well as her use of a less offensive argument to promote feminism by sponsoring the individual; however, this effectiveness is undermined by her overwhelming use of a sentimental and abstract idea she calls 'the solitude of self.'

Stanton uses appropriate examples that are wrought with emotion, but not overcome with silly dramatics. For instance, she uses an example to illustrate women’s position in society in the nineteenth century from a scene in Shakespeare's Titus and Andronicus when several men "seized the king's daughter, cut out her tongue, cut off her hands, and then bade her go call for water and wash her hands." This scene depicts how women must often rely on themselves, but are not given the rights or faculties in order to do so.

Stanton then brings up examples of common women in common situations. First she writes of a sixteen-year-old girl who must support herself and find her own respectable place in society, without an education, meanwhile keeping her integrity intact, as society dictates she should do. However, if this girl gives up and "allows herself to drift with the current" then she is humiliated. Stanton then writes of a wife and mother, who must "manage a household, have a deatrable influence in society, keep her friends and the affections of her husband, train her children and servants well... To do all this she needs the cardinal virtues and the strong points of character that the most successful statesman possesses." She adds, "An uneducated women, trained to dependences, with no resources in herself must make a failure of any position in life." Another example Stanton gives is that of a mother giving birth, "Whatever the theories may be of woman's dependence on man, in the supreme moments of her life he can not bear her burdens. Alone she goes to the gates of death to give life to every man that is born into the world." These examples are effective because they are common women in common situations, and are, therefore, without trivial melodrama, which would deter the sensible argument that Stanton gives.

By sponsoring the individual, Stanton is able to promote feminism with a less offensive argument, which is particularly effective, especially in the male-dominated society of the time period that Stanton lived in. Although Stanton is obviously fighting for women's rights, she does not argue for them as opposed to men, but rather, because both men and women are individuals. "The strongest reason for giving women ... a complete emancipation from all forms of bondage, of custom, dependence, superstition; from all the crippling influences of fear, is the solitude and personal responsibility of her own individual life... It matters not whether the solitary voyager is man or woman." Stanton even admits that, "No matter how much women prefer to lean, to be protected and supported, nor how much men desire to have them do so, they must make the voyage of life alone, and for the safety in an emergency they must know something of the laws of navigation." I know so many women who, if they could, they would only be a wife and mother; however, as reality teaches, most women are not able to do so due to monetary issues or other emergencies and tragedies. Therefore, the argument Stanton gives is that women should be allowed to be able protect and provide for themselves, as individuals, in case men cannot take care of them, which is often the case. This is a much less offensive argument to traditional males and females in comparison to many modern feminist arguments, and proves highly effective, since it shows that Stanton is a sensible woman rather than irrational radical.

Stanton is extremely effective in her argument for the rights of the individual; however, if there is one feature that obstructs her argument, it is her overwhelming use of this idea she calls "the solitude of self". Undoubtedly, it is a beautiful and understandable idea; nevertheless, it has little place in an overall sensible piece of writing. A piece of writing that was eventually given before the Committee of the Judiciary of the U.S. Congress on January 18, 1892.

Firstly, Stanton brings up the idea that each person is an individual. "Nature never repeats herself, and the possibilities of one human soul will never be found in another." This argument makes perfect sense. No human is the same, or can make the same contributions to mankind. Therefore, despite gender, all individuals should be allowed the same abilities to develop since it will help the general good of all humankind. This idea is simple, sensible, and understandable enough. Stanton then brings up the story of a little girl who helped dress a Christmas tree, and when she found there was no present for her, she bitterly wept alone, without a soul to help her in her lonely suffering. She then writes, "In youth our most bitter disappointments, our brightest hopes and ambitions are known only to otherwise, even our friendship and love we never fully share with another; there is something of every passion in every situation we conceal." How is this idea supposed to support that every individual deserves the rights and faculties to develop and earn their own happiness? Everyone has a secret part of them that is never revealed to anyone else, but that does not give unalienable rights for every person. People are given rights because they are individuals who to contribute to society, either positively or negatively. Not because of an abstract idea.

Certainly, it is a stunning piece of writing, and her "solitude of self" argument comes to a beautiful conclusion. "Such is individual life. Who, I ask you, can take, dare take, on himself the rights, the duties, the responsibilities of another human soul?" Stanton's last remarks almost atone for the many paragraphs she spent talking about her idea of the "solitude of self"; however, I found most of it to be distracting from the main idea of proving that women deserve the rights to protect and improve themselves as individuals.

Although Stanton’s speech veers somewhat into the theoretical with her idea of the ‘solitude of self’, her speech is indisputably a moving piece of writing written by a passionate woman who gave many years of her life to the cause of Women’s Rights. Her appropriately emotional examples and appeal for the rights of all individuals make her speech a far more enduring piece of work, and makes it effective for a universal audience.