It’s worth noting that Lippard dedicated The Quaker City thusly:
“INSCRIBED TO THE MEMORY OF CHARLES BROCKDEN BROWN.”
Thoughts?
From the Preface to the 1849 edition:
“To the young man and young woman who may read this book when I am dead, I have a word to say:
Would to God that the evils recorded in these pages, were not based upon facts. Would to God that the experience of my life had not impressed me so vividly with the colossal vices and the terrible deformities, presented in the social system of this Large City, in the Nineteenth Century. You will read this work when the hand which pens this line is dust. If you discover one word in its pages, that has a tendency to develop one impure thought, I beseech you reject that word. If you discover a chapter, a page, or a line, that conflicts with the great idea of Human Brotherhood, promulgated by the Redeemer, I ask you with all my soul, reject that chapter, that passage, that line. At the same time remember the idea which impelled me to produce the book. Remember that my life from the age of sixteen up to twenty-five was one perpetual battle with hardship and difficulty, such as do not often fall to the lot of a young man–such as rarely is recorded in the experience of childhood or manhood. Take the book with all its faults and all its virtues. Judge it as you yourself would wish to be judged. Do not wrest a line from these pages, for the encouragement of a bad thought or a bad deed.”
As I read the first few pages of the reading, I found myself intrigued by the description “of [the] spacious chambers below the level of earth” (324). The fact that the chamber was built underground suggests to us that there is something mysterious about this chamber. Not surprisingly, building a chamber underground “was calculated to stir the curiosity and perhaps the scandal of the town” (324). It is interesting that the construction of an underground chamber is a seen as a catalyst for scandal. It points out that individuals are often very disturbed by the unknown. There is something unsettling about the existence of mysteries. Even more disturbing than the existence of mysteries, is the fact that one can’t fully understand the unknown. In order to deal with the uneasiness that accompanies this lack of understanding, individuals tend to speculate about it because that is the only thing they can do. For instance, “strange rumors” began to circulate about the underground chamber because the townspeople had to construct these rumors in an attempt to understand it (324). Talk of “midnight orgies held by the godless proprietor in his subterranean apartments,” and the consumption of an excessive amount of wine passed from the mouths of the townspeople (324). In essence, they could only speculate about what happened in the underground chamber, and it is fascinating that they envisioned that the chamber’s happenings were sinful. I find it interesting that they felt that the activities that occurred within the chamber were sinister. This presents many interesting questions about the unknown because based on the rumors, it is clear that many feel the unknown and sin are inextricably connected. The unknown, in many ways, is inherently sinful. Further, the rumors reflect societal conceptions of what sin is. This fixation on the underground chamber is also a testament to the fact that individuals can’t help but be captivated by the unknown, and consequently, perhaps, even sin.
Hey everyone, so I am supposed to post for Monday but I will be gone Friday-Tuesday so I am posting now to make sure I get it up on time.
First of all, I thought The Quaker City was awesome! I mean, Devil-Bug, Musquito, and Glow-worm are the “policemen” of Monk-Hall?!? And the drunken society figures at the table. So great. However, I wanted to focus on the city in which the mansion exists and what its purpose is within that city. First of all, as we have discussed in class, the city is not a happy place to be in. Lippard affirms this notion as he depicts the buildings surrounding Monk-Hall. Opposite the mansion are “a mass of miserable frame houses [that seem] about to commit suicide and fling themselves madly into the gutter” (325). Beyond these houses are several other buildings of various uses “looming in broken perspective” (325). Lippard depicts the city as decrepit and disjointed as if the pieces don’t fit together to make it whole. Amongst the depressing stretch of buildings lies Monk-Hall. Surrounded by the dank city, I think that Monk-Hall represents the wilderness within an urban sphere. Rumors abound about wizards, devil worship, and “midnight orgies” (324). Not only does the mansion propel three stories above ground, but it also “descends” underground where the secret sinful meetings are held. This entire dramatic depiction of Monk-Hall brought Hawthorne to my mind several times. Since the mansion propels beneath the surface, thus getting closer and closer to the dominion of the Devil, Monk-Hall represents sin in a city brimming with suicidal buildings. It is feared and talked about because what goes on within its walls is unknown. The surrounding buildings are not feared for their aesthetic appeal. They are offices and houses, not a solitary old mansion with veiled figures wandering about at night. Often in the nineteenth century, that which was unknown was perceived as a threat; therefore, Monk-Hall is seen as a mysterious enigma housing massive drunken orgies and Satanic worship. It’s not hard to see why it is a great source of speculation and intrigue.
And the Puritans thought the actual wilderness was scary.
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