Commonplace 115 George & The Influence of John Ruskin. PART ONE.
It is impossible to fully assess the influence John Ruskin (1819-1900) has had on British cultural life. In George's day, he was the foremost Art critic, cultural polemicist and influence on socialist creative thinking. His collaboration with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the work he did in promoting education for the masses, reflecting the value of developing all levels of social class, is still shaping British cultural life today, and can be seen in the reverential way Art is often touted in the media (though, sadly, not in education) as indispensable to Civilization.
When George reached an age to appreciate him, he had done some of his best and most challenging work. In 1865, Ruskin presented 'Sesame and Lilies' first as lectures, then in printed format. George would have read these in one of the cheaply available texts. Both topics covered were things he was particularly interested in, and would debate for most of his working life in works such as 'The Odd Women' and 'Demos'.
'Sesame' addresses the need for reading in order to disseminate a cross-class collective interest in, and appreciation for, all elements of moral and cultural life, especially literature. For Ruskin, mass education began and ended with reading. Adult education classes in basic literacy today still support this view, though a nod is given to Paulo Freire click, especially his 'The Pedagogy of the Oppressed' (1968), luckily influencing course outlines. Freire owes something to Ruskin in his assertion that all language is political, with the acquisition of literacy being the most important tool of democracy. 'Sesame' set out to focus minds on promoting reading in order to improve society, and console the individual in her/his existential journey through life's tribulations. But Ruskin wanted reading to be inspirational as well as instructional, with the choice of what to read limited to what some intelligentsia deemed high quality and appropriate.
'Lilies' addresses the innate quality women posses for civilizing the world - taken as being male-centric - and the thorny issue of how to educate them for this unique role. We will cover this in the next post.
In 'Sesame', Ruskin was interested in the quality of education, rather than the quantity. He advanced the notion that education is in and of itself, beneficial, and does not have to have a function other than self-development. We come back to the Divine Oscar Wilde's truth: 'What you read when you don't have to determines what you will be when you can't help it'. George's love of all things Roman and Greek would fit neatly into Ruskin's concept - as would anyone who pursues any exploration of any challenging or intellectual interest in their free time. To Ruskin, learning is the purpose of life, and should be pursued as the highest level of human endeavour and achievement. Making money from skills and knowledge should not be the main purpose of education - we must be taught to appreciate learning for its own sake and not as a means to an end. And, because we meet so few geniuses in person, we have to rely on what they have recorded in books to develop our own intellects and widen our cultural horizons.
Ruskin would disagree with Oscar Wilde's assertion that 'there is no such thing as a good or bad book - books are either well-written or badly-written'; he would suggest good and bad books can make or break a mind. By 'good', he means books that are uplifting, sincere, beautifully expressed, inspirational. If enough of this sort of reading is undertaken, then low society will raise itself from the gutter and social improvement will prevail. We can find echoes of this in George's drive to 'educate' his first two wives, Marianne aka Nell and Edith. We know Nell liked poetry and was able to read for enjoyment - we know so little about the real Edith we can't possibly comment on her love of literature, but it would be likely that whatever George allowed her to read was not what she would have chosen for enjoyment's sake.
For Ruskin, reading is the great civilizing force required in a society that is developing in all other spheres at a pace that threatens its cohesion. As great writers commit their thoughts to paper, a healthy and wholesome society needs to improve its word power so the great ideas can be transmitted to all. What needs to be established is a shared sensibility that puts the Arts at its centre, and eschews the pressures of industrialization and money-making as the true purpose of existence. Because of this, books must be valuable and worthwhile in every way: Ruskin wants books to be beautiful containers for brilliant ideas, yet elitism is anathema to a fair and self-actualizing society, and so books must be beautiful, brilliant and affordable.
According to Ruskin in his lecture, there are 5 basic ways to improve the lot of all members of society:
1) Promote a love of reading and make it accessible for all.
2) Promote a love of science and not just in order to make money from it.
3) Promote a love Art and bring it to the masses via public exhibitions.
4) Promote a love of Nature and protect it from harmful forces.
5) Never underestimate the power of compassion to model the spirit of goodness.
He then goes on to tell this parable of modern life:
Ruskin then goes on to describe why Michael Collins and his ilk prefer death to the workhouse - and suggests the poor live in horror of charity and are ashamed to ask for help. They do not have the luxury of pensions awarded by the state, and are forced to give up all that connects them to existence when they go into a workhouse - how much better it would be if they could have a form of state pension and stay in their own homes. He is critical of the church that does not act charitably but erects walls and stumbling blocks to prevent charity, doling out money with a tight fist and in such small sums as to promote dependency. He decries workhouses that grind down the spirit and treat inmates as criminals, when they should be beacons of noble compassion and seek to set their charges off once more refreshed by their stay in the clean, wholesome surroundings, strengthened in body mind and moral courage, and able to withstand the adversities of life. True nobility comes from the way society treats its least able citizens, and to regain this moral purpose, education and magnanimity must prevail.
In his conclusion, Ruskin advocates that the money spent on unjust wars should be used to better the lives of ordinary people. He says just wars are cheaper - and one thinks of modern life where the boundaries between just and unjust are usually blurred.
So, what did George take from this? Not much of real worth. Maybe a few story-lines! He often facetiously mentions the workhouse as his natural destination in life, and even took a guided tour round his local one, the Marylebone (see above), but he would never have ended his days there. His poverty pose was just that - a fiction. But, how like Nell's death is the fate of the Collins family - did George lift the dreaded death scene he so carefully preserved at the start of his published Diaries from Ruskin? There is more than a whiff of fantasy about that death scene - but it added to the myth his first wife was a drunken waster, and he, the martyred husband.
How far did George stray from the influence of Ruskin? Well, he didn't believe in promoting education to the poor (or women!) - it was, he felt, casting pearls before swine. He didn't want the masses reading the books he had written, or his precious Homer, and he firmly believed very few of the working classes could appreciate poetry. He didn't like science and distrusted it. He thought Art was an activity that could and should only be appreciated by an elite, and would have cringed at free Art shows for all. He liked Nature and was fond of animals. And, he definitely did not believe compassion would save the day, or should be wasted on the 'undeserving'. He did agree that war is a bad thing, but that was never really tested under fire. If he had been on the receiving end of a Holocaust or an invasion, he might well have girded his loins for a fight, and justified his actions much like wars are always justified by their advocates, and sometimes, justly.
To read Sesame and Lilies for free click
JOIN ME IN PART TWO TO LOOK AT 'LILIES' AND HOW RUSKIN SAW THE ROLE OF WOMEN'S EDUCATION.
 |
| Ruskin in 1863 |
When George reached an age to appreciate him, he had done some of his best and most challenging work. In 1865, Ruskin presented 'Sesame and Lilies' first as lectures, then in printed format. George would have read these in one of the cheaply available texts. Both topics covered were things he was particularly interested in, and would debate for most of his working life in works such as 'The Odd Women' and 'Demos'.
'Sesame' addresses the need for reading in order to disseminate a cross-class collective interest in, and appreciation for, all elements of moral and cultural life, especially literature. For Ruskin, mass education began and ended with reading. Adult education classes in basic literacy today still support this view, though a nod is given to Paulo Freire click, especially his 'The Pedagogy of the Oppressed' (1968), luckily influencing course outlines. Freire owes something to Ruskin in his assertion that all language is political, with the acquisition of literacy being the most important tool of democracy. 'Sesame' set out to focus minds on promoting reading in order to improve society, and console the individual in her/his existential journey through life's tribulations. But Ruskin wanted reading to be inspirational as well as instructional, with the choice of what to read limited to what some intelligentsia deemed high quality and appropriate.
'Lilies' addresses the innate quality women posses for civilizing the world - taken as being male-centric - and the thorny issue of how to educate them for this unique role. We will cover this in the next post.
 |
| John Ruskin at Glenfilas by John Everett Millais 1853-4. He seems to have a narwhal tusk walking stick, thought mistakenly by some to be unicorns' horns. |
In 'Sesame', Ruskin was interested in the quality of education, rather than the quantity. He advanced the notion that education is in and of itself, beneficial, and does not have to have a function other than self-development. We come back to the Divine Oscar Wilde's truth: 'What you read when you don't have to determines what you will be when you can't help it'. George's love of all things Roman and Greek would fit neatly into Ruskin's concept - as would anyone who pursues any exploration of any challenging or intellectual interest in their free time. To Ruskin, learning is the purpose of life, and should be pursued as the highest level of human endeavour and achievement. Making money from skills and knowledge should not be the main purpose of education - we must be taught to appreciate learning for its own sake and not as a means to an end. And, because we meet so few geniuses in person, we have to rely on what they have recorded in books to develop our own intellects and widen our cultural horizons.
Ruskin would disagree with Oscar Wilde's assertion that 'there is no such thing as a good or bad book - books are either well-written or badly-written'; he would suggest good and bad books can make or break a mind. By 'good', he means books that are uplifting, sincere, beautifully expressed, inspirational. If enough of this sort of reading is undertaken, then low society will raise itself from the gutter and social improvement will prevail. We can find echoes of this in George's drive to 'educate' his first two wives, Marianne aka Nell and Edith. We know Nell liked poetry and was able to read for enjoyment - we know so little about the real Edith we can't possibly comment on her love of literature, but it would be likely that whatever George allowed her to read was not what she would have chosen for enjoyment's sake.
 |
| Lady Reading A Book by Attilio Baccani 1876 |
For Ruskin, reading is the great civilizing force required in a society that is developing in all other spheres at a pace that threatens its cohesion. As great writers commit their thoughts to paper, a healthy and wholesome society needs to improve its word power so the great ideas can be transmitted to all. What needs to be established is a shared sensibility that puts the Arts at its centre, and eschews the pressures of industrialization and money-making as the true purpose of existence. Because of this, books must be valuable and worthwhile in every way: Ruskin wants books to be beautiful containers for brilliant ideas, yet elitism is anathema to a fair and self-actualizing society, and so books must be beautiful, brilliant and affordable.
According to Ruskin in his lecture, there are 5 basic ways to improve the lot of all members of society:
1) Promote a love of reading and make it accessible for all.
2) Promote a love of science and not just in order to make money from it.
3) Promote a love Art and bring it to the masses via public exhibitions.
4) Promote a love of Nature and protect it from harmful forces.
5) Never underestimate the power of compassion to model the spirit of goodness.
 |
An inquiry was held
concerning the death of a man, Michael Collins, 58 years old, who lived with his wife. Mary, a malnourished
and prematurely aged woman, and his son, Cornelius, who had severe cataracts. They all scraped a living from recycling old boots, and selling them.
There wasn't much money in the trade, certainly not enough to feed three mouths
and keep a roof over their heads. Suddenly one day, Michael stood up at his
work bench and declared he could not carry on, that someone else would have to
finish the boots he was working on, as he was too cold and unwell to finish them. His wife took some boots to sell but received a few pence for
them and could only afford a little coal and a small meal of bread and tea. But,
it was too little, too late – next morning, Michael died. The family were starving
and the want of food was dire. At the inquiry, she was asked why they didn't apply to the workhouse.
She replied that they wanted to stay together and their home was what held them
together; if they lost that they would lose each other. She was then asked ‘What
comforts did you have? All you had was a dirty bed in the corner and no glass
in the windows’ But Mary began to cry and defend her meagre possessions of a
quilt and a few knick-knacks as worth keeping. Work was easier in the summer, and
they earned a little more, and could stash some away; but winter was hard and
these funds had run out. her son said he worked as hard as he could – just as
his father had done – and working in poor light had ruined his eyesight. He
felt sure he would regain his sight if he just had more to eat. He did not want
charity – he told of his father’s previous experience at being turned away by
the local church who had once refused him aid, and just gave him a loaf of
bread. Finding himself totally destitute and worn out by it all, Michael had finally
laid down and died.
One of the inquiry team
asked the son why he did not go to the workhouse for relief as he was clearly
starving to death, and Cornelius said he would never go to an institution for
help as he would lose what fragile toe-hold he had on his livelihood and home if
he did; he would never regain a roof or a means to earn a few pennies if he
changed his situation. In evidence, Dr Walker, the attending doctor disclosed
that the dead man had died from malnutrition exacerbated by cold weather, and for four months, had eaten nothing but bread, which had rendered him starved to the extent there wasn't any fat on his body. There was no sign of disease,
and if medical help had been summoned, he might have survived. The medical
record officially stated, 'The deceased died from fainting brought on by lack
of food and basic necessities of life; also from lack of medical attention.'
Ruskin then goes on to describe why Michael Collins and his ilk prefer death to the workhouse - and suggests the poor live in horror of charity and are ashamed to ask for help. They do not have the luxury of pensions awarded by the state, and are forced to give up all that connects them to existence when they go into a workhouse - how much better it would be if they could have a form of state pension and stay in their own homes. He is critical of the church that does not act charitably but erects walls and stumbling blocks to prevent charity, doling out money with a tight fist and in such small sums as to promote dependency. He decries workhouses that grind down the spirit and treat inmates as criminals, when they should be beacons of noble compassion and seek to set their charges off once more refreshed by their stay in the clean, wholesome surroundings, strengthened in body mind and moral courage, and able to withstand the adversities of life. True nobility comes from the way society treats its least able citizens, and to regain this moral purpose, education and magnanimity must prevail.
 |
| Man Reading A Book by John Singer Sargent 1904 |
So, what did George take from this? Not much of real worth. Maybe a few story-lines! He often facetiously mentions the workhouse as his natural destination in life, and even took a guided tour round his local one, the Marylebone (see above), but he would never have ended his days there. His poverty pose was just that - a fiction. But, how like Nell's death is the fate of the Collins family - did George lift the dreaded death scene he so carefully preserved at the start of his published Diaries from Ruskin? There is more than a whiff of fantasy about that death scene - but it added to the myth his first wife was a drunken waster, and he, the martyred husband.
How far did George stray from the influence of Ruskin? Well, he didn't believe in promoting education to the poor (or women!) - it was, he felt, casting pearls before swine. He didn't want the masses reading the books he had written, or his precious Homer, and he firmly believed very few of the working classes could appreciate poetry. He didn't like science and distrusted it. He thought Art was an activity that could and should only be appreciated by an elite, and would have cringed at free Art shows for all. He liked Nature and was fond of animals. And, he definitely did not believe compassion would save the day, or should be wasted on the 'undeserving'. He did agree that war is a bad thing, but that was never really tested under fire. If he had been on the receiving end of a Holocaust or an invasion, he might well have girded his loins for a fight, and justified his actions much like wars are always justified by their advocates, and sometimes, justly.
To read Sesame and Lilies for free click
JOIN ME IN PART TWO TO LOOK AT 'LILIES' AND HOW RUSKIN SAW THE ROLE OF WOMEN'S EDUCATION.
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