Lady Montagu, Part 2 (Also in response to required Entry for Oct. 1)

As with the first set of letters, I really enjoyed this second set as well. I was particularly enchanted by the encounter with the Lady Fatima in Antinople. It was really interesting to see that, though the encounter was very much in line with the Turkish culture, it also seemed to be very similar to the tea time visits in London by the upper echelons of society. The visit was only entertained by women and they talked entirely of things that were, for a lack of a better term right now, fun, and not politically driven. I was also taken by her absolute unabashadness in describing Fatima's inestimable beauty. It was riveting and intimate without being shocking or sexual in nature. You don't see that kind of descriptive ability too often, not to mention that it was pure in it's emotion, not fabricated. It helped show the importance of social encounters in that culture and that the kinds of entertainment and the extent of the meals, company, etc. are extremely important in showing the hostess' social status.

I also found it interesting that, at one point, Lady Montague seems to be worried about losing her own culture and identity through being firmly entrenched in the foreign lands for so long. However, her later letters no longer let on that worry. I don't know if it was because she had just had a child for no reason other than to remove a social stigma from her family, that coupled with raging hormones so soon after birthing, caused a little extra emotion than was really there, or if she was truly worried about losing her identity. However, as is evident by her later letters, she rebounded her English well and was no longer worried about it. In these later letters, since Lady Montague has been there for a few years now, we really start getting vivid descriptions of every day life, the social pecking order, and the superstitions and prejudices that the Ottomans have. I really enjoyed this bunch of letters and am looking forward to Monday's continued discussion.

Lady Montagu's First Set of Letters

As I was very ill Monday, I thought I'd post about my experience with Lady Montagu's first round of letters. I really enjoyed reading them, as they were not only very informative, but very conversational in their tone. It was like talking to an old girlfriend over coffee, and I really liked that feeling. It's interesting to see how she goes from an observer to a semi-active participant in the culture. She describes her Turkish clothing very well, and it was easy to conjure up a picture in my head.

One thing I noticed that was different from the other authors is the kind of descriptions and information she gives. We see the female side of life, as well as an overall deeper sense of intimacy with the culture at large. We see that, from her perspective, the lavish coverings of the women actually allow the women more freedom to do what they please, since they are unrecognizable and ignored in the streets by their very husbands. She also sees the women as having a lot of power, though it isn't necessarily political. It seems that, from this perspective, the entire culture takes on a different meaning and takes us all to a different level of understanding that we have not seen before. The personal nature of the letters also make it much easier to read than her male counterparts (to this point anyway) and more exciting to understand. I am really enjoying this section of our reading.

And so we begin the journey

I am sitting here thinking about what I've read in this class so far, and I am taken aback. I have already learned more than I expected! It is so interesting to see a culture that has been just so much a mystery to me. My "Culture Experience" with the Middle-East/Turkey has been movies and fictional books about a mysterious culture with startlingly barbaric rituals and ways of life. I read Armstrong and turn of the century accounts of travels and realize that, though there is some degree of barbarism, it's not nearly what they portray in pop culture formats. There is a simplistic beauty to the culture, with intricate rituals and strong beliefs. They are a strong-willed people with determination like no other for the simple right to survive as they see fit. I hope that, throughout this semester, I continue to learn about this culture and see who they are in a way that is fair representation. I hope that each adventure is more exciting, more transformative, and open my eyes more to the people I have never hoped to know. I am increasingly glad that I elected to attend this class and am looking forward to learning more.