A Critical Review on Bacon’s Attitudes towards Women

褚戈

Regarded as a philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific method， though， Sir Francis Bacon seems to have failed in the task of breaking away from the conventional thinking of his time that women should be obedient to men， which is manifested in his famed utterance that “wives are young mens mistresses； companions for middle age； and old mens nurses” （Scott 34）.

During the 16th century AD in Britain， religious institutions still held their dominant influence over the people， and it was the Christian religion that shaped civilians attitudes towards women （Wiesner-Hanks 19） that females were “otherness” （Mendelson and Crawford 32） in the sense of religion， morality and society. Women were considered as a weaker sex （Trill 31）. Apart from that， under English Common Law， a woman's legal identity disappeared upon marriage and all her property， her dowry or portion， and anything she earned or inherited during the marriage belonged naturally to her husband （Mendelson and Crawford 37）. Whats more， if a wife were caught cheating， her husband would divorce with her smoothly and get the custody of their children.

Having acquainted ourselves with background information， we can now analyze the words of Sir Francis Bacon. In the first place， according to him， “wives are young mens mistresses”. One has the tendency to think of something negative when seeing the word “mistress”. However， the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary gives us the following varied definitions of the word “mistress”：

i） A mans （usually a married mans） mistress is a woman that he is having a regular sexual relationship with and who is not his wife；

ii） （British English， old-fashioned） a female teacher in a school， especially a private school；

iii） （In the past） a woman who is in a position of authority or control， or who is highly skilled in something. （Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary）

With the definitions above， it is clearer to us that what Bacon refers to depends on specific cases. Since we cannot read his mind and partially due to limited background info， here we just elaborate on his ideas based on these three definitions as objectively as possible.

The first definition， of which the translation is often employed in Chinese versions， suggests that women are simply a means of meeting sexual demands and attaining enjoyment for hot-blooded young men， which is a disparagement towards women considering the modern sex concept of the equality between men and women. Nevertheless， in some way， it does reflect some facts： on one hand， without the charm of novelty in marriage， two individuals are attracted to each other， who are later involved in an affair where mutual cooperation can be found between the two parties， so that they can satisfy each others need both using their bodies in order to accomplish the task at hand， which theoretically accomplishes Pareto Optimality where no interest is impaired and demands are met. Whats more， recent scientific research has once again presented us the lust of young men（ Men-think-about-sex-5000-times-a-year）. On the other hand， Europe had a culture and history of mistress before and during the times of Renaissance， when works of masters like Giovanni Boccaccios Decameron depict a vivid image of the mistress culture in Europe. It was commonly seen that a young aristocracy had several lovers as their playthings in that sexual desire was extracted from legal marriage. Even now， we can still see examples like Prince Michael who had an affair but obtained clemency from his wife （“Princess Forgives Prince Michael”）. Based on the first interpretation above， we can note that his idea that wives are involved in an affair with young men as mistresses， where they are also self-pleased， is reasonable of his time， while in the modern context a sense of belittlement towards women can be spotted.

The second one， however， carries more practical significance. Wives are oftentimes teachers of their young and foolish spouses who usually fail to have an instinctive understanding of local folkways， and are honed to be mature and responsible through vicissitudes of life， most of which are entanglements of love and hate intertwined. Having a wife highly educated and steeped in propriety， a man has the chance to be guided patiently and systematically into the society where fierce rival and dirty tricks prevail. Thus he will， if he is not like the “Turks” （33）， try his best to shoulder the entire burden of the family for a brighter future for both of them， just like what Sir Francis Bacon put it： “Certainly wife and children are a kind of discipline of humanity”. They help forge honorable traits of young men， urge young men to behave themselves， and enkindle young mens enthusiasm for a better future earned by endeavor. On the contrary， if a man is not fortunate enough and has an unreasonable wife， then one strong possibility is that he will， if he fails to crumble living his less-favored life， generate a clear concept of what he wants in the unsatisfactory relationship. He will strive for his ideal life doing everything justifiable and worthwhile. Consequently， in either way wives are “teachers”， and either approach will shape the character of a man. In this case， wives are treated objectively by Sir Francis Bacon as incentive factors of life.

The last one is less likely to occur and yet more romantic. It was less impossible for wives to attain positions of authority in that women did not acquire higher social status than men at that time just as what is mentioned above， even when the wives did have something expertise. Nonetheless， it is romantic simply because if a young man works at his relation with his wife whole-heartedly and love her deeply， he will accommodate himself to her at her beck and call， trying to please her. No matter lover， teacher or authority， once placed in suitable contexts， the three elaborations above will make sense and be thought-provoking and far-reaching for many people.

Next， wives provide assistance for men， as Sir Francis Bacon regards them as “companions for middle age”. Forced to take burden from society and to show reliability to family， a middle-aged man can feel the touch of helplessness. Therefore it was and is still understandable that married men， no matter how successful their careers are， treat their wives as havens where they can take off their masks and do not have to show happiness when they are sad. From that we can see Sir Francis Bacon reckons on wives to alleviate their husbands pressure with meticulous care and ever-lasting companionship， which shows his great expectation and hope upon soul mates for a lifetime. Yet such wish could be desperate for wives in that women were denied the chance to achieve the social value of their own—all they could do was to be always there providing support.

Finally wives are expected to take good care of their husbands towards the ends of their lives as what Bacon suggested as “old mens nurses”. It is sweet to conceive of such a situation where a couple has travelled all the way carrying each other and looking after each other. Whereas， it was to some extent a pity for wives considering the fact that in the old times husbands were usually older than their wives and that when men were old， sick and failed to be life-independent， women were still dynamic and gorgeous. Nonetheless， great significance is attached to wives by Sir Francis Bacon， for without nurses， patients would be helpless and would pass away quickly， and when a man grows older， his wife would be the only one that he would turn to and rely on. He may have cheated on her having mistresses， but she is the one that has accompanied him all the way and he really loves. What can be sensed in Sir Francis Bacons attitudes towards women is love and respect in a context with bias and inequality towards women. He expects the most and the best of women of his time， and bet solely on wives hearts and souls.

To conclude， from Sir Francis Bacons proposition of the varied roles which wives should play， we can see limitations in religious and social concept towards women of his time that they should be docile， obedient and extremely sexually-chaste to their husbands. Born in an era full of bias towards women， Sir Francis Bacon would certainly take in some biased opinions in his philosophy and works. Whereas， these drawbacks cannot undermine his affirmation of women—mistresses， companions and nurses are vital and essential roles for the growth of men， the absence of which will lead to defective mental development of men. Regardless of his little chivalry， abundant attention paid to the role of women play as wives in family reveals his awareness of the importance of women as vital source of guidance and support， and the truth that the harmony of family and society is achieved through comprehension and cooperation of both men and women. Though his ideas have some defects and limits， they still inspire.

References：

[1]Crawford P.and Mendelson S.Women in Early Modern England 1550-1720.Oxford：Clarendon Press，1998.Print.

[2]“Men Think about Sex 5000 Times A Year”，Daily Telegraph.8 January 2010.Retrieved 3 December 2015.

[3]Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary.Retrieved from