Margaret Cavendish, The Duchess of Newcastle

How Did the Blazing World Come To Be?

What inclined Mary Cavendish to write such a novel, one that seems especially taboo for a woman of the 17th century to write? Some critics have claimed that Cavendish was not really a true feminist, but she just wanted to possess fame that was rare for a woman of the time period. She was noted for wishing to be "Authoress of the whole world," flamboyant, bold, and daring to participate in "masculinist intellectual debates of the day." (Thell 1) Cavendish strove for singularity, and viewed greatness as self-liberation and self-management combined with one's purpose in relation to nature. "Her idea of an organic balance is what combines the singularity of the author and the sovereignty of the Empress in The Blazing World." (Homesland 459) Within The Blazing World, themes of imperialism, science, discovery, and travel are present, creating a literal and symbolic textual conquest. Cavendish studied and embraced natural philosophy because within that science, ideas and opinions have freedom.

Cavendish created this Utopian fiction by mixing romantic, philosophical, and fantastic elements; it is an attempt to creatively and artistically order the Duchess's own life and world in a way that she feels is natural. As it is for many, imagination was a comfort zone for Cavendish. It provides a sense of control that she did not have in a society ruled by men. "Fancy and imagination provide compensation for their lack of power in England - and especially for being women." (Holmesland 469) With science fiction, Cavendish had narrative control; the reader cannot dispute anything that she writes because it takes place in a fantastic world.

If one is reading this book and knows and understands Cavendish's background and her motives for writing The Blazing World, it becomes obvious that The Empress's character is a symbol of the power Cavendish wished to have, and the utopian Blazing World is how Cavendish wanted the real world to be. In her writing, Cavendish turns to nature in search of a rational or moral principle.  Her want to break down artificiality is shown in The Blazing World as the Empress seeks to make the Blazing World a model for and a contrast to the world from which she came; she invents a world that provides a model of understanding and living with nature. Thus, The Blazing World becomes a meditation on the world in which she writes.

Cavendish uses technology to show the superiority of nature's strategies and that human instruments can make the most of, but not improve upon, nature. Throughout the novel, the author mocks the use of telescopes and microscopes and shows how the strange creatures of the Blazing World are able to carry on without the use of technology. In the novel, the sea-men are excellent navigators because of a long tradition of observation of nature; they do not need compasses, watches, or any other navigational tools. War technology that is used in the novel is based on utilizing the natural properties of the star and fire stones that exist in the Blazing World. This time period of the 17th century caused people to turn toward nature as a result of the breaking of the Christian church and other crises. This idea is also presented in her novel, as the people of the Blazing World have a broken church and desire a unifying or moderating doctrine.

The Empress herself is depicted in multiple roles in relationship to science; she is a promoter of scientific research, invents a royal society of virtuosi, initiates learned conferences, interrogates existing knowledge, speculates on natural philosophy, forms an intellectual collaboration with a female character summoned from the earth, called "the Duchess of Newcastle." (Bowerbank, Mendelson 26) This is a clear representation of the power that Cavendish wished she had.

The diversity of the men who reside in the Blazing World is an unmistakable parallel of Cavendish's beliefs on nature. Throughout The Blazing World, she speaks for a true, free nature, and asserts that every creature has its own limited knowledge and power with its particular place in nature. That is why the bird-men become astronomers, the spider-men become mathematicians, and so forth. Each beast has its own talents and its ability to use them within nature.

Analysis Adapted from:

The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish
Margaret Cavendish's "The Blazing World": Natural Art and the Body Politic by Oddvar Holmesland
The Power of Transport, The Transport of Power: Margaret Cavendish's Blazing World by Anne M. Thell
Paper Bodies, A Margaret Cavendish Reader, edited by Sylvia Bowerbank and Sarah Mendleson