Sharing my rhetorical analysis

Rhetorical Analysis: The Factory Girl

For modern readers, the most striking aspect of the title page for The Factory Girl is the lack of a named author. First published in 1814, Sarah Savage was not listed as the author of the text; instead, the novel is written “By A Lady.” Because there is no dedication page included in the novel, the reader must use other literary clues embedded in the front matter and the text to discover the intentions of the “lady” author. Luckily, the reader does not have to look far, as on the title page, there is a quote from Galatians 5 22-23: “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentle-/ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. St. Paul” (Savage n.p.). The last part of verse 23 is not included: “against such there is no law” (BibleGateway).

The inclusion of a Biblical reference on the title page is evidence of the (implied) author’s intention, as the commentary on BibleGateway states that Galatians 5: 22-26 describes “freedom for moral transformation” and that “the fruit of the Spirit is the moral character developed by the power of the Spirit” (BibleGateway). Furthermore, “Paul’s list of moral qualities produced by the Spirit provides assurances that those who ‘live by the Spirit’ will actually fulfill God’s requirements for his people” (BibleGateway). The Factory Girl will serve as a guidebook, showcasing how Mary Burnam, the heroine, lives by the Spirit and is rewarded, while those who do not love, have joy, peace, patience, etc. are not living by God’s will and therefore suffer.

The first chapter opens with a quote from Robert Burns’ poem “A Winter Night”: “The heart benevolent and kind/ The most resembles God” (Savage 3). The poem as a whole invokes Christian charity in the image of giving shelter during a winter storm. The theme of moral transformation apparently begins with having a “benevolent and kind” heart, and as chapter one reveals, these pious thoughts must also be put to action. Because there is no dedication, the intended audience of The Factory Girl must be extrapolated from the text itself. If the quote from Galatians is placed on the title page, literally opening the text, then it can be assumed that the audience not only needed this clue but also needs moral and religious guidance. The author is taking it upon herself to provide an example of how to cultivate this moral transformation, or if some of her audience is already like Mary, then the text offers confirmation of their righteous path.

The demographical statistics of this audience can only be guessed at as there is no subscription list at the back of the text, but I believe the audience is comprised of young men and women (teenagers and older) who are Christian, middle or working class, white and American. Because of rising literacy rates in early America, it is possible that lower class readers had access to the work as well, but were not necessarily intended to be the proper audience of the text. Mary, the heroine, is a middle class orphaned girl and Christian, and only takes to work in a factory in order to provide niceties for her grandmother, such as tea and other “little luxuries” (Savage 10) that are no longer available in their “declining life” (Savage 10). They are not the poor middle class who must work to put a roof over their head, and in fact own their own house.

The context of The Factory Girl is made clear by the intention of the text as a guide to moral transformation. The implied author would not have written and published the text unless she felt it necessary to provide this moral and religious guidance to those she felt were in need of it. The novel includes both good and bad examples of moral and religious conduct, and these distinctions are not subtle in the least. The format and style of the title page is neither flashy nor ostentatious, in keeping with its intentions. The title page makes good use of the white space, and the Galatians quote sits right in the middle of the page.

The novel is about Mary, whose birthday opens the novel. It is revealed that this eighteen year old girl wishes to better provide for her grandmother, Mrs. Burnam, and begs her permission to work at a local factory, spinning cotton. While other scholars look to The Factory Girl as an industrial text with the first female laborer protagonist, I find that the text very clearly lays out the correct and incorrect conduct of living for young people of the time through the example of pious Mary, and unfaithful and frivolous William Raymond.

In keeping with moral guidance as the author’s intention, the goal of the novel is show by explicit example via Mary the proper conduct for young people. For example, Mary’s motivations for getting a job are not selfish, instead her grandmother explains “for I know it is not to get fine clothes for yourself, but comforts for me, that makes you so desirous to go out to work” (Savage 4). Once Mary is given permission to work at the factory, we are told that “[t]he glow of filial benevolence kept her unusually cheerful through the day” (Savage 10). The implications are that being too cheerful for no good reason is not proper conduct, and that acting in accordance to filial benevolence can affect a person emotionally (cheerfulness) and physically (the glow). Mary’s behavior is commended by her co-worker Nancy Raymond, who after knowing her for one day exclaims,

And though she does not laugh and talk, as much as some do, I dare say she is never gloomy and ill-tempered. I minded when her spools were tangled, she did not get angry with them, as some girls do; but when she was almost out of patience, she turned round and looked at me with such a good-humored smile, it made her look quite handsome (Savage 12-13).

In short, Mary is a goody two-shoes, but within the context of this novel, that is a good thing and worthy of imitation.

Proof of Mary’s excellence can be found in the author’s descriptions of Mary. She is regularly described as being industrious, dutiful, brimming with filial benevolence, cheerful, engaged in healthful activity, naturally timid, has a “modest, pleasing manner” (Savage 11), good-humored smile, uniform pleasantness, and is good-tempered and obliging. Furthermore, she has a “conciliating manner and an innocent conformity to general customs” (Savage 22), and an “unbroken cheerfulness of temper” (Savage 23). Perhaps most importantly though, Mary is described as a “beauty of the mind” (12) rather than having physical beauty.

The language used to describe Mary is intended to inspire the audience to imitate her actions, so it is safe to assume that being described as industrious or obliging, especially if you are a young woman, was highly complementary and desirous during the author’s time, at least in the eyes of authority. Authority comes in the form of Mary’s elders in the novel, such as her grandmother, Mrs. Holden (Mary’s aunt), Mr. and Mrs. Danforth (“the good judges of correct behaviour”), Dr. Mandeville (their former boarder) and Mr. Seymore, the new clergyman in Hamden, who is the religious authority for all of them.

The author cleverly intertwines voices of authority by opening each chapter of the novel with a quote from authors and poets that her audience from the “real” world of early America would be familiar with such as Robert Burns, Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Chapone, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Alexander Pope, and William Cowper. The narration style is third person omniscient, so the voice of the narrator does not intrude but rather lets the characters of The Factory Girl tell their own tale, though it is apparent through language and the plot that the readers are to follow in Mary’s footsteps rather than stray from the path of moral transformation.


Works Cited:
Savage, Sarah. The Factory Girl. Boston: Munroe, Francis & Parker, 1814.

The Zondervan Corporation L.L.C. “Galatians 5: Commentaries: Freedom for Moral Transformation.” BibleGateway. 1 February 2009. http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/index.php?action=getCommentaryText&cid=7&source=1&seq=i.55.5.8.

The Zondervan Corporation L.L.C. “Galatians 5: King James Version.” BibleGateway. 1 February 2009. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=55&chapter=5&version=9/.