Contemplation on the “World of My Own Creating”: Alchemical Discourses on Nature and Creation in The Blazing World (1666)
Resource
NTU Studies in Language and Literature, 22, 057-076
Journal
NTU Studies in Language and Literature
Journal Issue
22
Pages
057-076
Date Issued
2009-12
Date
2009-12
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper examines Margaret Cavendish’s The Blazing World from an alchemical perspective, with special references to passages regarding the
perception of the cosmos and the creation of immaterial worlds. Even though the text is not the first work addressing the Utopian theme, it is
innovative in utilising alchemical allegories to present both the author’s philosophical thoughts and the process of creative writing. In order to
explore the complexity, versatility and richness of The Blazing World, my reading focuses on the Empress’s discourses on nature and the narrative
surrounding her creation of worlds, while at the same time draws from early modern alchemical texts, particularly the treatises by Paracelsus and
Michael Sendivogius. I argue that it is necessary for modern readers to revisit the esoteric and mystical nature of alchemical imagery, in order to
develop a more profound understanding of the ways in which the Duchess of Newcastle created and refined her various imaginative worlds.
Subjects
煉金術
帕拉賽瑟斯(Paracelsus)
參帝沃吉爾斯(Sendivogius)
「合一」思想
創造
瑪格麗特?柯芬蒂詩
烏托邦文學
alchemy
Paracelsus
Michael Sendivogius
The One
creation
Margaret Cavendish
fiction
Utopian literature
Type
journal article
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