Peruvia: Peru Feminized in Helen Maria Williams’ <i>Peru</i>

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  • ペルーヴィア―ヘレン・マライア・ウィリアムズの『ペルー』における女性化されたペルー
  • ペルーヴィア : ヘレン ・ マライア ・ ウィリアムズ ノ 『 ペルー 』 ニ オケル ジョセイカ サレタ ペルー

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<p>Helen Maria Williams, who supported abolitionism and the French Revolution, published an epic-like long poem Peru in 1784. The poem depicts many attractive natural resources of the non-European world as well as Peru’s tragic fate and collapse at the hands of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. </p><p>  Though the importance of Peru in literary works from the age of Romanticism has not been fully examined, several literary works concerning this country were published at that time, and these played important roles in the literary trend. Williams also covered historical topics, criticizing Spanish conquistadors for abusing the innocent indigenous people. Peru has attracted discussions regarding Williams’ liberal political view and its gender-related characteristics. Based on these discussions, this essay examines the conflict between the Spanish conquerors and the conquered Peruvians, as related to gender problems. </p><p>  Williams personifies Peru as female Peruvia. Going beyond the conventional use of personification of countries as female, Williams’ Peruvia has her own body and sentiments. Peruvia suffers, bleeds, and sheds tears, corresponding to the actions of the people living on her land. Las Casas, a Spanish Dominican friar, who protected many Peruvian people and accused the Spaniards of conducting a cruel invasion, is also provided with a female personification; his sentimental character is also represented through a female image. Victimized Peruvia and her protector Las Casas are further chained together by another female-personified figure, Sensibility. They are tied together by their common political standpoint and form an enormous political force, opposing the Spanish conquerors and their brutal male image.</p><p>  Although it may seem as if Williams oversimplified the topic by giving gender roles to the Spanish and the Peruvians, it was necessary for her to conceptualize a comparable element as “female” against the male-dominated Spanish political powers. Peru shows Williams’ challenging take on an overarching theme of history and politics in the context of the limited and restricted situations experienced by woman poets in the 18th century.</p>

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