Sydney Owenson The Missionary Analysis

Sydney Owenson’s The Missionary asserts the universalism of Western culture and how the East is similar to the West but slightly different, as a way to make conversions to Christianity more successful. Although the text aims to portray a more neutral stance, it actually prioritizes the West when it attempts to bridge the gap between the two sides by saying that “Chrishna” is the “Indian Apollo,” not realizing that this views the East through a Western lens rather than allowing it to exist on its own (Owenson 91). In this instance, the text primarily mentions the language of idols as a conduit to signify the commonality of the people, more specifically, their religions. The text complicates the commonality of the people when it elevates the “bridging process” by …show more content…
As the text attempts to argue for a common link between the East and West, it instead suggests an unbalanced power dynamic between the two regions. As Hilarion explores the Hindu temple, the text notes that the priestesses of the temple “performed their religious dances before Chrishna, the Indian Apollo, and idol of the temple” (Owenson 91-92). Here, the text connects the Eastern figure of Chrishna and the Western figure of Apollo to suggest a commonality between these two seemingly opposite regions of the world. The text employs the language of idols, in this case meaning an adored figure rather than a physical object, to provide an illustrative example of the similarities between the two. The use of the idols cements the text’s efforts to imply the connection between the two religions since it allows for the audience to view the two sides in religious terms, which allows for possible conversions to occur more effectively. More specifically, the text does this to familiarize and explain the East to its Western audiences who may not know about Chrishna and the importance of the deity. While this may appear to be an innocent