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General Happiness or Human Bliss: Jane Marcet's Political Economy in James Morier's Persia

2011; Routledge; Volume: 33; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/08905495.2011.569463

1477-2663

Emily A. Haddad,

Historical Economic and Social Studies

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes [1] The quotation is from p. 327. [2] Unless otherwise indicated, quotations from Marcet's Conversations are taken from the first edition (1816 Marcet, Jane Haldimand. 1816. Conversations on Political Economy; in Which the Elements of That Science Are Familiarly Explained, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. Google Books. 26 Nov. 2010 [Google Scholar]), available via Google Books. The only readily available bound version was edited by Evelyn Forget in 2009 Forget, Evelyn L. 2009. "Introduction". In Conversations on the Nature of Political Economy, Edited by: Forget, Evelyn L. vii–xxxvi. New Brunswick: Transaction. By Jane Marcet [Google Scholar]; it reproduces the seventh edition (1839). For discussion of differences among editions, see Henderson 435–36. [3] Marcet's mother was English and Morier's was Dutch; by coincidence, both writers' fathers were Swiss men who raised their offspring as Britons. Marcet (c. 1769–1858) began her career as a writer with the publication of her much‐reprinted Conversations on Chemistry in 1806. Her familiarity with political economy was enhanced by acquaintance with some of the major figures in that field, including Thomas Malthus and David Ricardo, as well as with professional associates of her brother, William Haldimand, a banker (like their father) and a director of the Bank of England. Polkinghorn's relatively short Jane Marcet: An Uncommon Woman (1993 Polkinghorn, Bette. 1993. Jane Marcet: An Uncommon Woman, Aldermaston: Forestwood. [Google Scholar]) is the only book‐length biography of Marcet; for other information about her life and career, including her intellectual connections, see Bahar; Forget; Henderson; Hollis; Polkinghorn and Thomson; and Shackleton. Johnston's book about Morier (c. 1782–1849) and his brothers offers the most comprehensive biographical treatment available, although Wright's pair of monographs also addresses his role. Morier spent much of 1807–1815 in Iran (then Persia) in service to the British government. His final post was as chargé d'affaires, beginning in June 1814. He remained in diplomacy for another decade before devoting himself to writing. [4] Scott's influential reaction to Hajji Baba is discussed in Avery 227 and Rastegar, "Transactions" 129–30. The reception and impact of Hajji Baba have been described by several critics, most of whom note its multiple reprintings as well as the extent to which both casual readers and those who should have known better viewed the book as an accurate ethnographic representation of early nineteenth‐century Persian culture; see for example Curzon, Jennings xiii–xiv, Watt 66–69, and especially Johnston 213–14. Translated into Persian by Mirza Habib Isfahani in 1906, the novel was influential in Iran; for further discussion of its reception in both England and Iran, see Rastegar. Marcet's Conversations on Political Economy was quickly and often reprinted, and was praised not only by its intended audience—middle‐ and upper‐class young people and their parents—but also by political economists themselves. For information on this text's publication history and significance, see Hollis 379–82 and Shackleton 283–4, 289. Rosner provides a helpful assessment of the Conversations books, pointing out that Marcet "was the shining star" of the series (29). Speaking more broadly of Marcet's contributions, Fara calls her "[t]he most famous didactic female writer" of her time (n.pag.). [5] Examples range from the late 1820s into the early twentieth century, with a great number clustered at the very end of the Victorian period. Titles include Specimens of the Novelists and Romancers (Glasgow, 1827); Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern (New York, 1897); The International Library of Famous Literature: Selections from the World's Great Writers, Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern (New York, 1898); The Universal Anthology: A Collection of the Best Literature, Mediaeval and Modern (London, 1899); and Authors Digest: The World's Great Stories in Brief (N. p., 1908). [6] Another common line of argument emphasizes Marcet's contributions as an educator rather than as a participant in the discourse of economics as such. For example, Neeley makes the case for Marcet as a "mediator," and explains that "scientifically respectable introductory works" such as Marcet's are "essential to the ongoing welfare of the scientific and technical community," because "science is advanced not only by those who experiment, theorize, and apply, but also by those who formulate and communicate" (213, 210). Polkinghorn and Thomson reach a similar conclusion, acknowledging that while Marcet "did not advance the state of knowledge herself … her presentation and techniques were original [and] enabled individuals to understand what was believed to be true of political economy at the time" (12). Rauch identifies Marcet as someone who "both shaped and sustained a sphere of influence in scientific discourse" (346), and Henderson praises her book as "a pioneering work in economics education in which economics teaching is supported by educational insight" (433). [7] A version of Mrs. B. first appears in Conversations on Chemistry. As Henderson remarks, "it is tempting to see Mrs. B. as Marcet after studying political economy and Caroline as Marcet before a study of political economy" (430). Both Henderson and Hollis offer insightful readings of the dialogic aspect of this text; Bahar discusses the cultural context for the notion of "conversation" in Marcet's time. [8] The 1839 edition incorporates happiness directly rather than implicitly into Mrs. B.'s definition of political economy. Mrs. B. tells Caroline, "Political economy treats of the nature, the production, and the distribution of wealth; it teaches us the causes which promote or prevent its increase, and their influence on the happiness or misery of society" (15). [9] The division of labor is the cause to which Adam Smith credits the development of "every improved society" (Smith 1: 9). [10] Hollis makes a related point, that Marcet exalts political economy by implying that it has "a natural element" (389). Shackleton too notes "Marcet's continuing insistence that the laws of economics are the 'laws of nature'" (290). [11] Constant's Principes de politique was published in 1815, the year before the first edition of Conversations on Political Economy appeared. It was not republished until 1861, and never translated in the nineteenth century. Marcet read French without difficulty, so the lack of a translation would not have presented an obstacle, but I have been unable to confirm whether she was familiar with his work. [12] Several other critics emphasize Wollstonecraft's and Edgeworth's influence on Marcet; see for example Henderson 433–34. [13] This final comment about charity appears as part of Burke's overview of the greatness of pre‐revolutionary French culture, an overview which aligns almost perfectly with the standard that Marcet sets for civilization. I will cite only the first parts of Burke's page‐long sentence: "Indeed, when I consider the face of the kingdom of France; the multitude and opulence of her cities; the useful magnificence of her spacious high roads and bridges; the opportunity of her artificial canals and navigations opening the conveniences of maritime communication through a solid continent of so immense an extent; when I turn my eyes to the stupendous works of her ports and harbours, and to her whole naval apparatus, whether for war or trade …; when I recollect how very small a part of that extensive region is without cultivation …" (235). Marcet's version, already cited, is trimmer but essentially identical: "a civilised people, who occupy a highly cultivated country, intersected by fine roads, leading to wealthy and populous cities, and carrying on an extensive trade both at home and with other countries" (16). Not surprisingly, Burke precedes his litany with a lament about "discouraged industry [and] insecure property" (235). [14] A helpful view of turn‐of‐the‐century charity is presented by Pinches; see especially 77–85. [15] For further discussion of relations between Marcet's text and Smith's, see Henderson 429; Hollis 382, 385; Polkinghorn and Thomson 5; and M. White 665–66. [16] By "education," Marcet means not formal schooling but rather development occurring through experience. [17] This discussion is important enough to merit the only index entry on happiness in Conversations: "Happiness, how influenced by wealth" (456). [18] Of these 75 pages, 15 are dedicated to the embedded narratives of others who tell Hajji Baba their stories, so his socioeconomic transformations occur even faster than might first appear. [19] As a picaresque novel, Hajji Baba clearly owes something to Alain‐René Lesage's Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane, but exactly how much has been debated. Irwin charges that Morier's "debt … at certain points amounts to plagiarism" (203), whereas other critics are more generous. Among Morier's sources for the narrative was of course his own experience as a traveler and diplomat. His two earlier books, both travel accounts, each have a section on Ispahan, and as Johnston and others note, many specific incidents in Hajji Baba are based on counterparts experienced or heard by Morier while he was in Iran. [20] The sequel, less popular than the original, was published in 1828 as The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan in England. In both novels, certain characters appear to be fictionalized portrayals of people whom Morier met in Persia. Curzon provides a (perhaps suspiciously thorough) list of such correspondences; Wright's summary is more conservative as well as more empathetic toward the Iranians so unflatteringly parodied by Morier (Persians 68). [21] The addressee of Peregrine Persic's letter is a "Doctor Fundgruben," a personage never further described in the text; Krotkoff convincingly identifies the Orientalist scholar Joseph von Hammer (1774–1856) as the historical figure being evoked. Assuming that Krotkoff's argument is correct, the novel becomes even more fully implicated in the "textual attitude" of Orientalism (Said 92) than one might initially expect. [22] The Mohtesib is identified in Morier's footnote as "an officer who perambulates the city, and examines weights and measure, and qualities of provision" (60). The definition of this word given in Haim's Persian–English Dictionary is simply "municipal or police officer" (767), but clearly Morier has the more specific responsibilities of an inspector in mind. [23] This phrase appears as part of a long quotation from "Volney's travels." Constantin‐François Chasseboeuf Volney, a French Orientalist, published a widely read account of his travels in Egypt and Syria in 1787. [24] One might also understand this supposed degeneracy as the inverse of the social development described by Foucault in Discipline and Punish (1977 Foucault, Michel. 1977. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Edited by: Sheridan, Alan. New York: Vintage. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Roughly summarized, Foucault's argument holds that European philosophy and practice moved away from a focus on the individual body as the locus of punishment or discipline. It seems in Hajji Baba that the individual body remains that locus. Moreover, the body of the functionary imposing the discipline is integral to the disciplinary process—witness the episode of the Mohtesib. [25] The word "surai" should be "sura," a verse of the Qur'an. [26] In modern spelling, these cities are Tblisi, in Georgia; Baku, in Azerbaijan; and Derbent, in Russia on the Caspian Sea. The visit described in Hajji Baba is based on that of the British diplomat Harford Jones to the court of Fath Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834) in 1809. Morier was a member of Jones's staff. For further information and a summary of the political circumstances of this visit, see Wright, English ch. 1. [27] After his diplomatic mission to England, Persian envoy Mirza Abul Hasan Shirazi received a monthly pension from the East India Company for his ongoing "assistance to the British Ambassador in preserving the friendly relations between Great Britain and Persia" (qtd. in Wright, Persians 62). Wright adds that "[b]y the standards of the day there was nothing objectionable about such payments to a foreigner designed to secure his goodwill and thus promote British interests" (62). Even so, the ease with which the fictional British diplomats buy off the fictional Shah distinguishes the situation in Hajji Baba from the routine pensioning described by Wright. A full account of the career of Abul Hasan, whom Morier accompanied from Tehran to London in 1809 and who provided the basis for the character of Mirza Firouz in Hajji Baba, may be found in Wright, Persians ch. 6. [28] Fraser and Irwin make related points. Irwin notes Morier's "contempt for … all foreigners" (202), and Fraser remarks: "Morier comes across as John Bull's greatest fan. The result is a … vision of contemporary Britain … both as exotic and as almost comically advanced" (391). [29] The victory of knowledge is also asserted by Richards in The Imperial Archive (1993 Richards, Thomas. 1993. The Imperial Archive: Knowledge and the Fantasy of Empire, London: Verso. [Google Scholar]), where he proposes that by the end of the Victorian period, novels of empire "equate … knowledge with national security [and] see knowledge itself not as the supplement of power but as its replacement in the colonial world" (5). Richards does not mention Morier, but the documentary quality increasingly ascribed to Morier's novel is certainly consistent with Richards's analysis. One might question, however, whether this discourse of knowing can really exist in the absence of a discourse of othering, as Rastegar implies, given that only what has been othered appears subject to this form of knowledge‐as‐power. [30] For further discussion of political economy in early and mid‐nineteenth‐century didactic fiction, see Courtemanche.