Signifying woman : culture and chaos in Rousseau, Burke, and Mill PDF
Preview Signifying woman : culture and chaos in Rousseau, Burke, and Mill
Signifying Woman C O N T E S T A T I O NS A series edited by WILLIAM E. CONNOLLY The Other Heidegger by Fred Dallmayr Political Theory and the Displacement of Politics by Bonnie Honig The Inner Ocean: Individualism and Democratic Culture by George Kateb The Anxiety of Freedom: Imagination and Individualist in Locke's Political Thought by Uday Singh Mehta Signifying Woman: Culture and Chaos in Rousseau, Burke, and Mill by Linda M. G. Zerilli Signifying Woman Culture and Chaos in Rousseau, Burke, and Mill Linda M. G. Zerilli Cornell University Press Ithaca and London Copyright © 1994 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 1994 by Cornell University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zerilli, Linda M. G. (Linda Marie-Gelsomina), 1956- Signifying woman : culture and chaos in Rousseau, Burke, and Mill / Linda M. G. Zerilli. p. cm. — (Contestations) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8014-2958-7 (alk. paper). — ISBN 0-8014-8177-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) i. Feminist theory. 2. Feminist theory—Political aspects. 3. Political science—History. 4. Women in public life. 5. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 1712- 1778. 6. Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797. 7. Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873. I. Title. II. Series. HQ1190.Z47 1994 305.42'.ol—dc20 93-31618 Printed in the United States of America © The paper in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences— Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. To my parents Marie A. Zerilli and Armand F. Zerilli Woman is field and pasture, but she is also Babylon. —Simone de Beauvoir . . . the outline of the signified thing vanishes. —Julia Kristeva Contents Acknowledgments ix 1. Political Theory as a Signifying Practice 1 2. "Une Maitresse Imperieuse": Woman in Rousseau's Semiotic Republic 16 The Maternal Voice 19 The Field of Female Voice and Vision 30 Making a Man 39 The Semiotic Republic 50 The "Furies of Hell": Woman in Burke's "French 3. Revolution" 60 Terror and Delight 63 Burke's Reflections as Self-Reflections 73 Breaking the Code 77 The Furies at Versailles 85 Postscript: The Maternal Republic 90 4. The "Innocent Magdalen": Woman in Mill's Symbolic Economy 95 Political Economy of the Body 99 Political Economy of the Female Body 109 Angel in the House 111 Angel out of the House 117 The Innocent Magdalen 127 vii 5. Resignifying the Woman Question in Political Theory 138 Notes 155 Index 209 viii Acknowledgments Like all discursive productions, this book emerged through a dialogic interplay of multiple voices. I am deeply indebted to several people. To begin, I thank Zillah Eisenstein, from whom I learned about the fascinating world of feminist theory, and whose work has been an inspiration to me. I also express my gratitude to Paul Thomas and Michael Rogin, both of whom encouraged me to pursue nontradi- tional lines of argument and to take intellectual risks. They made graduate school the experience it ought to be—emotionally exhila- rating and intellectually intoxicating. Hanna Pitkin's work on Ma- chiavelli and gender served as my model for the kinds of readings that are possible in political theory. To my colleagues at Rutgers University I owe a large measure of thanks. Stephen Bronner has been the kind of friend one needs when undertaking the seemingly endless task of rewriting a book manu- script. Benjamin Barber offered encouragement and valuable advice on various matters. And lively conversations with Gordon Schochet and Gerry Pomper have helped me to clarify some conceptual mat- ters. To Susan Carroll and Cynthia Daniels I owe my sanity. Several graduate students at Rutgers are dear to me as both friends and colleagues. Patrick Moloney read the entire manuscript and offered detailed comments. His help, support, and advice were in- valuable. Wendy Gunther-Canada provided me with insights into Rousseau, and her work on Mary Wollstonecraft has helped me to think through eighteenth-century debates on gender. The students who participated in my seminars on French feminist theory and ix
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