Portrait of a Lady

Edmund Burke takes time off from campaigning for liberty to reflect on the delights of captivity.

1757

King George III 1760-1820

Introduction

Edmund Burke remains one of the most significant statesmen in British history, who spoke up for the American colonists and the people of India as well as the English working man. Around the time of his marriage to Jane Mary Nugent in 1757, Burke also shared with us some thoughts on his ‘Idea of a Woman’.

by Edmund Burke 1729-1797

abridged

SHE has a face that just raises your attention at first sight; it grows on you every moment, and you wonder it did no more than raise your attention at first.

Her eyes have a mild light, but they awe you when she pleases; they command, like a good man out of office, not by authority, but by virtue.

Her stature is not tall. She is not made to be the admiration of every body, but the happiness of one.

She has all the firmness that does not exclude delicacy: she has all the softness that does not imply weakness.

Her smiles are inexpressible.

Her voice is a low, soft music, not formed to rule in public assemblies, but to charm those who can distinguish a company from a crowd. It has this advantage — you must come close to her to hear it.

No person of so few years can know the world better; no person was ever less corrupted by that knowledge.

by Edmund Burke 1729-1797

abridged

Abridged from ‘The District School Reader’, edited by William D. Sawn.

Précis

Prominent Georgian statesman Edmund Burke described his ‘idea of a woman’ in terms of a young lady who is not a striking beauty or the kind of conversationalist to hold a room, but a quietly spoken, intelligent woman of discerning character whose personal charm and magnetism are felt more strongly at each meeting.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

Why did Burke like it that his lady was soft-spoken?

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Burke wrote about his idea of a woman. He did not name the woman. He married Jane Nugent about this time.