The reasons for Elizabeth Marsh choosing, and subsequently writing her book The Female Captive served many nuanced purposed that must be examined at a granular level. Elizabeth decision to write and publish this book is remarkable feat, not only due to the circumstances under which it was written, but because of its defiant proclamation of independence, from her husband, James Crisp, and the societal constraints of being a woman.
The contents of what, at the time, was purported as being a travel book, detailed her time spent in captivity in Morocco, paying significant attention to the men who shaped her time there, the Sultan of Morocco, Sidi Muhammed, her then fiancé, Henry Towry, Barbary merchant, John Court, and of course her future husband, James Crisp. Each of the men Elizabeth mentions in her writing serve to not only describe her experiences, but also to advocate for her reputation as a pure English woman. She seems to have aimed to use this book as an act of defiance to those who questioned her worthiness of a husband when she returned from Morocco, and of her husband, James Crisp, who’s mercantile failure and bankruptcy humiliated her, and compromised her stature in England.
What is probably most mystifying about her writing, though, is the conflicting ways in which she paints herself during her …show more content…
Moving into her father, Milbourne Marsh’s home by the sea gave her the time and minimal resources necessary to write her travel book, which she knew was a genre much revered at the time. The Female Captive gave Elizabeth Marsh some degree of freedom and independence from her husband’s bankruptcy, and allowed her to conceivably articulate her view of the
The contents of what, at the time, was purported as being a travel book, detailed her time spent in captivity in Morocco, paying significant attention to the men who shaped her time there, the Sultan of Morocco, Sidi Muhammed, her then fiancé, Henry Towry, Barbary merchant, John Court, and of course her future husband, James Crisp. Each of the men Elizabeth mentions in her writing serve to not only describe her experiences, but also to advocate for her reputation as a pure English woman. She seems to have aimed to use this book as an act of defiance to those who questioned her worthiness of a husband when she returned from Morocco, and of her husband, James Crisp, who’s mercantile failure and bankruptcy humiliated her, and compromised her stature in England.
What is probably most mystifying about her writing, though, is the conflicting ways in which she paints herself during her …show more content…
Moving into her father, Milbourne Marsh’s home by the sea gave her the time and minimal resources necessary to write her travel book, which she knew was a genre much revered at the time. The Female Captive gave Elizabeth Marsh some degree of freedom and independence from her husband’s bankruptcy, and allowed her to conceivably articulate her view of the