Reading Humility in Early Modern England

While humility is not especially valued in modern Western culture, Clement argues, it is central to early modern understandings of Christian faith and behavior, and is vital to contemporary concepts of the self. Early modern literary engagements with humility link it to self-knowledge through the practice of right reading. This study complicates mo

While humility is not especially valued in modern Western culture, Jennifer Clement argues here, it is central to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century understandings of Christian faith and behavior, and is vital to early modern concepts of the self. As this study shows, early modern literary engagements with humility link it to self-knowledge through the practice of right reading, and make humility foundational to any proper understanding of human agency. Yet humility has received little critical interest, and has often been misunderstood as a false virtue that engenders only self-abjection. This study offers an overview of various ways in which humility is discussed, deployed, or resisted in early modern texts ranging from the explicitly religious and autobiographical prose of Katherine Parr and John Donne, to the more politically motivated prose of Queen Elizabeth I and the seventeenth-century reformer and radical Thomas Tryon. As part of the wider 'turn to religion' in early modern studies, this study seeks to complicate our understanding of a mainstream early modern virtue, and to problematize a mode of critical analysis that assumes agency is always defined by resistance.

Autorentext

Jennifer Clement is President Emerita of the human rights and freedom of expression organization PEN International and the only woman to hold the office of President (2015-2021) since the organization was founded in 1921. Under her leadership, the groundbreaking PEN International Women's Manifesto and The Democracy of the Imagination Manifesto were created.Clement's award-winning novels, memoirs and poetry have been translated into 38 languages and have been taken to the stage and screen. Her work has covered topics such as the stealing of little girls in Mexico (Prayers for the Stolen) gun violence and trafficking of guns into Mexico and Central America (Gun Love) as well as writing about her life in the art worlds of Mexico and New York in Widow Basquiat and The Promised Party.For Clement's work in human rights, she was awarded the HIP Award for contribution to Latino Communities by the Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) Organization, as well as being the recipient of the Sara Curry Humanitarian Award. Most recently, she was given the 2023 Freedom of Expression Honorary title on the occasion of World Press Day by Brussels University Alliance VUB and ULB in partnership with the European Commission, European Endowment for Democracy and UNESCO. Jennifer Clement was raised in Mexico where she lives. www.jenniferclement.org

Inhalt

A foundation of humility. Breeches parts: humility, pride, and social hierarchy. Acting (false) humility: Eastward Ho! and the problem of hypocrisy. Kissing the wound: humility and humiliation in John Donne's Sermons and Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. The Queens' humility: Katherine Parr, Elizabeth I, and humble agency. Thomas Tryon's reformed stewardship. Conclusion: humility and agency.