A New Understanding of Submission and Women's Place in the Salvation Narrative: Female Religious Experiences in Lucy Hutchinson's Order and Disorder &amp; Aemilia Lanyer's Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum

With suspended disbelief as opted by Trill, in this thesis, I have examined and revisited Hutchinson and Lanyer’s professions of faith. I have attempted to look at their works from a religious angle and interpret their motivations to write their texts accordingly. In conclusion, both Lucy Hutchinson in Order and Disorder and Aemilia Lanyer in Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum produced a new Genesis narrative with emphasis on the female presence. In rewriting the Genesis narrative with such an emphasis, they acknowledged the religious suppression of the female gender by the existing patriarchal society and addressed the need for a revival in personal religious experiences for women. To achieve that, they wrote about their own personal religious experiences and the religious experiences of their characters as an example for other women. Both Lucy Hutchinson and Aemilia Lanyer have felt this calling to guide their female readers to a new understanding of submission leading to a personal...Show moreWith suspended disbelief as opted by Trill, in this thesis, I have examined and revisited Hutchinson and Lanyer’s professions of faith. I have attempted to look at their works from a religious angle and interpret their motivations to write their texts accordingly. In conclusion, both Lucy Hutchinson in Order and Disorder and Aemilia Lanyer in Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum produced a new Genesis narrative with emphasis on the female presence. In rewriting the Genesis narrative with such an emphasis, they acknowledged the religious suppression of the female gender by the existing patriarchal society and addressed the need for a revival in personal religious experiences for women. To achieve that, they wrote about their own personal religious experiences and the religious experiences of their characters as an example for other women. Both Lucy Hutchinson and Aemilia Lanyer have felt this calling to guide their female readers to a new understanding of submission leading to a personal responsibility for their soul's salvation. Hutchinson and Lanyer have similarly interpreted submission to be a total, personal subjection to God. In Order and Disorder, Hutchinson shows that the notion of Biblical submission does not equal the silencing of the female gender and does not come from a place of authority. Instead, submission comes from a place of humility and servitude towards God and others. In Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, Lanyer brings down patriarchal hierarchies as she calls her readers to a common subjection to God. In both Hutchinson and Lanyer’s accounts, there is no difference between men and women experiencing God’s grace. Lanyer underlines that both men and women have sinned and that both men and women can receive God’s grace. She uses the image of Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as His Bride as the epitome of submission to one another. As Christ sacrificed himself for the Church, the Church should submit to Him an each other in return. Hutchinson confirms that submission to Christ results in a servitude towards others and an actively practiced faith. Furthermore, Hutchinson and Lanyer both describe the personal responsibility for women’s religious welfare. As described in the first chapter of this thesis on the Reformation, the religious landscape changed from a collective Christianity to an individual religious experience. As a result of this individualisation of faith, women are called to a personal, religious relationship with Christ. in Order and Disorder and in On the Principles of Religion, Hutchinson depicts how both she and her character Eve experienced salvation and transitioning from guilt into grace, and from grace into gratitude. In contrast, Lanyer interlaces the experiences of guilt, grace, and gratitude throughout her narrative. She engages the reader by showing that both men and women are subject to sin and need God’s grace. As a result, she depicts the reward of subjecting to God: as His Bride, the Church lives a joyful eternal life in His presence. At last, indeed, this thesis this thesis demonstrates that by writing and publishing their personal religious experiences, Lucy Hutchinson and Aemilia Lanyer guide their female readers to a new understanding of submission leading to a personal responsibility for their soul's salvation. Both Hutchinson and Lanyer present the way to salvation according the Reformed notions of guilt, grace, and gratitude.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

A New Understanding of Submission and Women's Place in the Salvation Narrative: Female Religious Experiences in Lucy Hutchinson's Order and Disorder & Aemilia Lanyer's Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum