Allegations of Misanthropy against Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was severely 'accused' of misanthropy after it was revealed that behind Gulliver's Travels, there was no Gulliver but Swift. But first, let us investigate that what misanthropy actually is. Misanthropy is "hatred and mistrust of humankind", as the Webster dictionary suggests. [Back to the topic] William Thackrey labelled Swift's personality as “an immense genius” but “an awful downfall and ruin” whose habitual way of being was to remain constantly “alone and gnashing in the darkness.” [The Washington Post] George Orwell as well did not remain silent and asserted his views for almost all the major works of Swift, considered Swift “a diseased writer” who resided “permanently in a depressed mood,” refused “to see anything in human life except dirt, folly and wickedness,” and was consumed by a “general hatred of humanity.”.
Why is Swift Termed as a Misanthrope?
Swift is [allegedly] termed as a misanthrope because of the fourth voyage in Gulliver's Travels. He has pictured such a deplorable picture of mankind, deformed and being ruled by rational horses who are devoid of any feeling or desire. Here, Swift partially forgets the fact that,
Man is a rational animal.
But Swift marks his views on man's rationality as thus,
Man is capable of becoming rational if he makes the necessary efforts.
But we see Gulliver prioritizing one animal over the others. His admiration for Houyhnhnms and his detest against Yahoos gradually becomes strong and he denounces Yahoos in the following words,
Yahoos who are unteachable brutes, cunning, gluttonous and disposed to great mischief.
So, it is evident that Swift, in the garb of Gulliver, is treated as a misanthrope. But this gives rise to another question.
Why does Gulliver like Houyhnhnms more than Yahoos?
When Gulliver, at first, embark on the land of Houyhnhnms, he is welcomed by a herd of 'uncivilized Yahoos'. When they are about to hurt him, he is "miraculously" saved by Houyhnhnms the rational horses who live their life through reason and rational co-ordination. Naturally, Gulliver's fondness of Houyhnhnms develops but after a while, having been enamoured of the rationality of Houyhnhnms, he starts detesting every human being other than Yahoos. That is why when he returns to his family, he shows his disgust against the captain and his daughter. Such blunder is a concrete evidence of Gulliver's misanthropical attitude.
Gulliver admires Houyhnhnms because,
Houyhnhnms are free from lust and greed.
According to Gulliver, that has been possible through the extermination of emotions. So, he suggests that,
The only remedy for doing away with Man’s corruption and pollution is to get rid of all kinds of emotions.
Swift favours Golden Mean
Gulliver's idealization of Houyhnhnms based on their rational intellect and his detest for Yahoos because they lack such rationality and associating the Yahooic nature to all the earthly humans put Gulliver in the sphere of a misanthrope. It is Gulliver who is a misanthrope, not Swift because Swift holds different opinions about the man in general.
Swift asserts that a man is one who maintains a balance between rationality and sensuality. Such balance is not gifted by birth. It has to be attained. That is why, Gulliver is subjected to Swift's satire for he loses the said "golden mean".
Conclusion
Swift, at last appears as a philanthrope but if we will eye him through the lens of Gulliver, he will look misanthrope. But Swift weathers the storm of misanthropy by himself, thus he says,
I write for the noblest end, to inform and instruct mankind.
Sources and Suggested Readings
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/jonathan-swift-not-entirely-the-misanthrope-you-thought-you-knew/2017/02/27/5b0554b0-fd00-11e6-8f41-ea6ed597e4ca_story.html
- http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optional-subjects/group-v/english-literature/221-swift-misanthrope.html
- https://maenglishnotespk.blogspot.com/2014/12/swifts-misanthropy-in-gullivers-travels_35.html
- https://theconversation.com/why-jonathan-swift-wanted-to-vex-the-world-with-gullivers-travels-94972
