“Eloquent Eyes”: Lockean Ocularcentrism in Sydney Owenson’s The Missionary: An Indian Tale (1811)
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Many of the nineteenth century British writers embrace the influence of ocularcentric empiricism including Lockean epistemology and their contemporary visual culture, but, at the same time, Romantic poets, William Wordsworth among others, reveal their concern over the expansion of visual culture and hesitate to affirm the empiricists’ doubts regarding language. By locating Sydney Owenson’s The Missionary: An Indian Tale (1811) in the context of Lockean epistemology and Romantic writers’ responses to visuality, this paper examines the relationship between two protagonists—Hilarion, a Portuguese missionary, and Luxima, an Indian priestess—as a reflection of the tension between vision and language in the nineteenth century. Hilarion utilizes his verbal eloquence for his mission as well as his romance with firm confidence in the power of language as his best tool; in contrast, Luxima, who is obliged to be reticent due to her religious commitment, interacts with other people, including Hilarion, with her “eloquent eyes” (179). The trajectory of the two protagonists’ romantic bond, which is interwoven with the clash of their cultural and religious differences, progresses alongside the contrast between vision and language and this conflict culminates in a tragic ending, the sacrifice of Luxima and the self-ostracism of Hilarion.
Abstract
Many of the nineteenth century British writers embrace the influence of ocularcentric empiricism including Lockean epistemology and their contemporary visual culture, but, at the same time, Romantic poets, William Wordsworth among others, reveal their concern over the expansion of visual culture and hesitate to affirm the empiricists’ doubts regarding language. By locating Sydney Owenson’s The Missionary: An Indian Tale (1811) in the context of Lockean epistemology and Romantic writers’ responses to visuality, this paper examines the relationship between two protagonists—Hilarion, a Portuguese missionary, and Luxima, an Indian priestess—as a reflection of the tension between vision and language in the nineteenth century. Hilarion utilizes his verbal eloquence for his mission as well as his romance with firm confidence in the power of language as his best tool; in contrast, Luxima, who is obliged to be reticent due to her religious commitment, interacts with other people, including Hilarion, with her “eloquent eyes” (179). The trajectory of the two protagonists’ romantic bond, which is interwoven with the clash of their cultural and religious differences, progresses alongside the contrast between vision and language and this conflict culminates in a tragic ending, the sacrifice of Luxima and the self-ostracism of Hilarion.
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