By Paulina Allen (Fall 2022)
The Arraignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women by Joseph Swetnam is a misogynistic pamphlet published in 1615. The Arraignment of Women details jokes, ramblings, and biblical arguments against the value of women. Its publication took place during the pamphlet wars of the 17th century. The author, Joseph Swetnam, is best known today for his pamphlet, but in his time, he was known as a fencing expert who wrote one of the first English fencing treatise. Male writers had been attempting to define women and their value for centuries, but at the dawn of the Renaissance, women were finally getting the chance to contribute to the conversation. The popularization of the printing press offered the first opportunity for protracted public discourse on several topics. Over 2000 pamphlets were published between the years of 1600 and 1715 (Allegra). It is said these pamphlet ‘wars’ had influence over social movements such as the Protestant Revolution and the Revolution Controversy (Allegra). The publication of Joseph Swetnam’s Arraignment of Women initiated its own set of pamphlet wars debating women’s role in society. It prompted responses from women such as Rachel Speght, the first Englishwoman to criticize the accepted gender ideology of the time (Allegra).
The nature of the gender ideology of the 17th century was changing. The Protestant Reformation was changing the dynamics of the family, and therefore, the dynamics between men and women. Questions were being raised, and accepted ideologies were being questioned. The specific set of pamphlet wars the publication of The Arraignment of Women caused, contributed to the discussion and questioning of the gender ideology of the time. The Arraignment of Women begins with Swetnam inviting readings to his “bear-garden” (verbal equivalent of the bear baiting area), but warning women to stay away because it will surely infuriate them. The pamphlet argues that women are of little value to society in general. They are stubborn, unreasonable, proud, and disdainful if treated well, and vicious if treated poorly. Thus, marriage is to be avoided at all costs. Swetnam shows how gender inequality in the 17th century was justified. In order to make his argument he uses rhetorical techniques, the general dehumanization of women, and Biblical arguments. In doing so, Swetnam demonstrates to a modern audience how the nature of arguments promoting sexism have remained similar.
Joseph Swetnam is attempting to persuade the audience of his misogynistic point of view. In order to make his argument plausible and valid, he employs the use of rhetorical devices such as comparison and imagery. In the introduction of the pamphlet, Swetnam compares women to Cerberus, the two-headed dog. Swetnam does not care if his pamphlet upsets women. Because women cannot be reasoned with and “must be answered with silence” (Swetnam). “For I know women will bark more at me than Cerberus, the two-headed Dog, did at Hercules when he came into Hell to fetch out the fair Proserpina” (Swetnam). By comparing women to a commonly understood reference, Swetnam is making his argument accessible and understandable to his reader. He is making fun of women and devaluing their words by comparing them to an anima l. Imagery is used to appeal to the reader’s imagination, in that way, the imagery makes the argument more impactful. “The Lion being bitten with hunger, the Bear being robbed of her young ones, the Viper being trod on, all these are nothing so terrible as the fury of a woman” (Swetnam). In this example from The Arraignment, Swetnam is using the imagery of the animals to demonstrate how very terrible “the fury of a woman” is. Swetnam uses imagery to endear his argument to his audience. Although Swetnam does not represent the opinion of every member of the population in 1615, his ideas are representative of the generally accepted gender ideology of the time, and how it was rationalized.
Throughout the pamphlet, Swetnam dehumanizes women. He compares women and animals to discredit women’s humanity. “No spur will make her go, nor no bridle will hold her back” (Swetnam). In this quote, Swetnam is comparing women to a horse, implying that women should be able to be controlled like an animal, and because they cannot, there is something wrong with them. Not only that, Swetnam goes further in his argument to say that women have very little value even controlled. Towards the end of the pamphlet, Swetnam says that women cannot even be valued for their beauty, because “He that has a fair wife and a whetstone every one will be whetting thereon” (Swetnam). If your wife is pretty, every man will be chasing after her, and “a Castle is hard to keep when it is assaulted by many” (Swetnam). Swetnam’s main point is that no man who is married to a beautiful woman will be happy. This reflects how society viewed and valued women in the 17th century. Women were not viewed as people with value, but rather as inconveniences. Swetnam emphasizes and provides his own rationalization for the time period’s accepted view of women. In the middle of the pamphlet, Swetnam makes a series of statements about women’s stubbornness and lack of intellect. “For if a woman hold an opinion, no man can draw her from it. Tell her of her fault, she will not believe that she is in any fault” He makes the claim that women do not have the ability to be reasoned with, making them inherently less valuable than men. He implies that women have no capability of intellect and reason, like animals. Although this pamphlet was written in the 17th century, its key points are unfortunately similar to the key points of misogynistic arguments today. Sexism today is more watered down and less blatant, but no less damaging. Swetnam’s pamphlet is an excellent example of how sexism has remained similar over the past several centuries. Although society has made leaps and bounds in terms of gender equality, Swetnam’s pamphlet serves as a reminder that there is still progress to be made.
In the 17th century the Christian Bible served as the premier authority on most things, but particularly the dynamics between men and woman, and their respective roles in society. In The Arraignment of Women, Swetnam uses primarily biblical evidence to support and give his argument credit. By using the bible to provide evidence for his argument, Swetnam does not have to make himself an authority on the subject, because his biblical evidence already is an established authority. Whether or not his interpretation of the bible’s verses concerning men and women is correct or not is irrelevant to his purpose. As long as he can convince the reader that his ideas are based in biblical text, it lends validity to the crux of his argument. “He [Moses] also saith that they were made of the rib of a man, and that their froward nature shows; for a rib is a crooked thing good for nothing else, and women are crooked by nature” (Swetnam). Swetnam is making a leap in logic here. The bible says that women were made from the rib of a man, but Swetnam is taking it further and saying that because ribs are crooked, women must be crooked. This argument makes no logical sense, but the argument seems credible to 17th century readers because of its biblical foundation. Swetnam’s next key point is founded in the biblical perspective of David and Solomen. Two biblical figures revered for their wisdom. Swetnam says that in the time of David and Solomen they had reason to believe that women dangerous and vengeful, so they must be dangerous and vengeful today. “For the one of them said that it was better to be a doorkeeper and better dwell in a den amongst Lions than to be in the house with a froward and wicked woman, and the other said that the climbing up of a sandy hill to an aged man was nothing so wearisome as to be troubled with a froward woman” (Swetnam). Swetnam does not need to directly quote David and Solomon to use their opinions as evidence for his argument. Simply stating that David and Solomon share his opinion is enough to give it validity. The third biblical reference Swetnam makes compares a chastised woman to Satan. “And if you forbear her, it makes her bold, and if you chasten her, then she will turn to a Serpent” (Swetnam). Serpent is capitalized, in reference to Satan in the form of a serpent who tricks Eve into eating the apple. Swetnam is saying that a chastened woman will turn into a trickster. His audience would understand that reference, therefore making his argument more accessible. Swetnam uses biblical arguments to lend credibility to his general logic and the crux of his arguments. This is effective because the Bible was a generally accepted authority on the subject in the 17th century.
The way Swetnam uses bible verses to support and validate his sexist argument makes an interesting parallel to modern day biblical anti-feminist arguments. For centuries, the bible has been used to justify inequality of all kinds, but specifically gender inequality. Bible verses are often interpreted to manipulate people to believe in certain things. Swetnam does this exact thing in The Arraignment of Women. If bible verses are taken out of context, they can be easily manipulated to mean whatever anyone wants them to mean. Although times have changed, the Bible still holds power to fairly significant percentage of the population. The bible can be interpreted in a number of different ways to support the oppression of women or to emancipate them. Joseph Swetnam clearly interprets it in a way that supports the oppression of women, and this usage of the bible did not end in the 17th or 18th century. The use of the bible to justify the oppression of women is still a modern occurrence. The bible verse “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet” (1 Timothy 2:11–12, New International Version) is often used to justify why women should not receive authority in the church. However, if every verse in the bible was taken so literally, endless contradictions would be found. In the same way Swetnam does, modern writer cherry-pick verses that support only the argument they want to support, instead of looking at the reality of what the Bible is saying. Swetnam’s argument is not founded in what the bible is saying, Swetnam’s argument is founded in what context Swetnam gives to the bible verses he chooses. Withholding biblical context is a way of manipulating the meaning of bible verses. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Saviour.” (Ephesians 5: 22-23) is another verse often used to perpetuate the oppression of women. Along the same vein of Swetnam’s argument, the real meaning of this verse is irrelevant because of the power the bible holds as an authority. Bible verses have been used to support individual agenda for centuries now, as is seen in Joseph Swetnam’s Arraignment of Women.
In The Arraignment of Women, Joseph Swetnam uses rhetorical devices such as comparison and imagery, the general dehumanization of women, and biblical verses to make and support his argument about the vicious and all-around unpleasant nature of women. Although Swetnam does not represent the opinion of every person in the 17th century, his arguments were generally accepted as part of the gender ideology of the time. Swetnam used biblical verses in particular to lend validity to his argument. This draws an interesting comparison with modern-day misogynistic arguments that utilize the same technique to support their arguments. Joseph Swetnam’s pamphlet allows the modern-day reader to get a glimpse of how 17th century gender ideology was justified, and how that justification is similar to the justification of modern-day sexist arguments.
Works Cited
Swetnam, Joseph. “The araignment of leuud, idle, froward, and vnconstant women or the vanitie of them, choose you whether : with a commendation of wise, vertuous and honest women : pleasant for married men, profitable for young men, and hurtfull to none.” Early English Books Online, University of Michigan, n.d, and is licensed under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.
Allegra Villarreal, Editor. “Gender Relations: Conflict and Counsel.” An Open Companion to Early British Literature, 22 Jan. 2019, https://pressbooks.pub/earlybritishlit/chapter/gender-relations-conflict-and-counsel/.
Swetnam.org, http://www.swetnam.org/background/joseph-swetnam/.
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