Mott and Gage: 19th Century Activists REVIEWS

By Lorine M. Getz

Lucretia Mott: Her Complete Sermons and Speeches, ed. Dana Greene, the Edwin Mellen Press, 1980; and Woman, Church and State, by Matilda Joselyn Gage, Persephone Press, 1980, are two extremely useful historical works, both recently published by houses supportive of women's studies. Both books bring to light the writings of central but often ignored activists in the nineteenth century American suffrage movement, Lucretia Mott and Matilda Joselyn Gage.

Dana Greene brings to print for the first time forty-nine of Philadelphia Quaker Lucretia Mott's sermons and addresses, giving readers access to the arguments and insights of the abolitionist and suffragist for whom the Equal Rights Amendment is named. These speeches, recorded by stenographers and mostly unrevised by Mott, reveal not the delicate and sweet Lucretia Mott of history books, but a woman of unrelenting zeal and determination who crusaded for nearly forty years for human rights. These lectures reveal the extent to which the causes of Blacks, Indians and the poor were interrelated to women's rights in Mott's thinking. Mott, who left us no written corpus, is here seen to stand solidly for pacifism, temperance and egalitarianism based on her belief in the spiritual equality of all persons. Mott speaks out against sectarianism, institutionalism and discrimination as the central evils of her age. Through an examination of these works, we come to

recognize how intellectual criticism, and social activism, balanced by her Quaker inner silence, provided the foundation for a wholistic theory for the positive reconstruction of society.

Matilda Joslyn Gage's book, republished from the original 1893 edition in its entirety with a foreword by Mary Daly and an introduction by Sally Roesch Wagner, is a pointed critique of traditional Christianity's repression of women. This work carries forward many of the concepts presented earlier in Mott's speeches. It is not surprising that these two books are related when one realizes that Mott defined and clarified her feminist theories in the company of younger women including Matilda Gage, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Gage, who collaborated with Anthony and Stanton to write The History of Women's Suffrage, bases her argument for a feminist theology, in opposition to the misogynist Christian theology, on the teachings of other suffragists as well as on her own study of the history of Western religions.

Greene's introduction to the works of Lucretia Mott on the centennial of Mott's death is helpful for those interested in understanding the American suffrage movement. Greene discusses the relevance of

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such contemporary movements as Unitarianism, Garrisonianism and transcendentalism in relation to Mott's own prophetic vision deeply rooted in her Quakerism. As Greene demonstrates, Quaker teachings of the divine Light within each individual, the universal teachings of the Spirit and independent moral authority were modified, confirmed and clarified by Mott in relation to other social, political and religious philosophies of her era. Throughout the turmoil and confusion of the age and the bitter schism in the late 1820's within Quakerism itself, Mott sought that central Truth which gave authority and provided the basis for her attack on the falsity, oppression and injustice frequently institutionalized within both the Church and the State.

The Quaker tradition which professed the spiritual, though not the socio-political, equality of women provided Mott opportunities to explore the meaning of "female" through a life of hard work as wife and mother of six children, non-sacramental ministry and direct communication with God, and to

participate in an active way, unique to Quaker women, in the Church's ministry, fund-raising and business activities. Through these variegated roles and activities, Mott developed an integrated and wholistic understanding of the dignity and equality of women's personal, social, political and religious rights. The principal themes in her recorded sermons include the moral nature of human life, the quest for righteousness and truth, universal salvation, the dwelling of divine Light within every individual, and the liberation of the oppressed on the basis of individual moral authority. Calling repeatedly for free thinking and skepticism on all fronts, Mott condemned the church for its complicity in slavery and the subjugation of women. Acutely aware of institutional evil, she singled out the church as the main obstacle to women's equality because of its fraudulent premise of women's inferiority and subordination to men and its discriminatory stance against

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"Getting Out" at Phoenix

By Mary Walsh

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Getting out of prison is intimidating: reestablishing relationships with family and friends; finding work with little training and a criminal record; the temptation to return to crime to survive; re-adjusting to a society that shuns you although you have paid your debt all face an ex-convict. While these problems are examined in Phoenix Theatre Ensemble's splendid production of Getting Out, by Marsha Norman, the play goes beyond them to examine the difficulties peculiar to a woman leaving prison.

Arlene has just served eight years in Alabama for murder, robbery and prostitution. She entered prison as Arlie, a violent, untameable girl who has endured her father's incest, her mother's rejection and exploitation by Carl, her pimp and the father of her child. Arlie is wild and independent, but her strength is based on self-hatred. In prison, during a long period of solitary confinement because of her violent behavior, she undergoes a terrifying personal ordeal which leaves her the passive, undecisive Arlene, a model prisoner. However, the prison chaplain has evoked in her a sense of self-worth which gives her the courage to attempt a new life when she gets out. Arlene has been driven to Kentucky by Benny, a guard at the prison who plans to go on "taking care” of Arlene whether she wants it or not; his impositions include a near-rape, which is harrowingly portrayed. Pressured by Benny's smothering presence, Carl's attempts to persuade her to return to prostitution, and her mother's continuing rejection, Arlene is immobilized. With the support of Ruby, another exconvict who has gone through many of the same problems, Arlene/Arlie ultimately comes to a reintegration of herself. The play ends positively, with Arlene determined to make her own life, dif-. ficult though it may be.

The play is staged in an interesting and unusual manner, with two actresses taking the parts of Arlie and Arlene; they are often on stage simultaneously, juxtaposing the past and present of this women in a moving and dramatic fashion. Teresa Westbrook and Janis Jacobs, as Arlie and Arlene respectively, give performances stunning in their depth and com'plexity; the other members of the cast, including Barbara Haas as the mother and Marcia Mandel as Ruby, are also excellent.

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Getting Out is feminist in outlook and in its characterizations: it portrays women as strong and

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independent, while men are victimizers and opportunists, using and living off women. Every reader of What She Wants should see this production, which will run in repertory at the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, 3130 Mayfield Road (where Judy Chicago's Dinner Party will be exhibited from July through May). Performance dates are March 7, 8, 12 and 13, April 10, 18, 25 and 26, and May 3, 6, 24 and 30. Call 371-7766 for reservations, and be sure to use the coupon on page 12 of this issue for $1 off the ticket price.

Art by Wimmin

By Bev Stamp

Soft lights, wimmin's music by Joye Gulley and Joanne O'Connor, and an enthusiastic group of art students, teachers, and relatives highlighted the first wimmin's art show which opened February 6 at the CSU Art Building. The various works by seven CSU art students consisted of paintings, drawings, ceramics, mixed media, and weaving.

The main reason for a wimmin's art show was explained by Arleen Hartman: "A wimmin's art show was needed because the wimmin art students at CSU have low visibility, and not too many people-both in and out of the Art Department-realized that there was a group of serious wimmin art students at the university. It was a chance to get together and demonstrate our collective female strength. The show was also an alternative to the negative view of wimmin depicted in many CSU art shows."

The idea for this exhibition was originated by Joye -Gulley, a feminist artist. Arleen helped her to organize and set up the show. Joye viewed a movie presentation of Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party recently and was inspired by the beauty of the various art works which told the story of forgotten wimmin in history. Joye felt that a small group of wimmin at CSU had a story of their own to relate; she told her idea to Arleen and the two of them made the show a reality. Besides Joye and Arleen, the other artists represented were Jessica Longe, Deane Wernet, Mary Kudasick, Gerri Palmer and Carol Heinz. Representative works are as follows:

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"The Rose," by Jessica Longe, is an erotic oil.. painting close-up of a single rose. The orange-red colors are very warm, rich and sensual, The center of (continued on page: 12)

February-March, 1981/What She Wants/Page 7 iben „amri-yiötősi vannež ste tedŵ \O DYNI