Saturday, October 5, 2013

Writer Profile: The Cary Sisters

      Alice and Phoebe Cary were sisters, poets, and role models. The two sisters wrote both on their own and together, collecting a folio of wondrous works. Coming from a loving family stricken by near-poverty and blossoming into influential writers and women, Alice and Phoebe Cary fought to secure their names and their livelihoods.

Alice Cary
      Alice, born in 1820, and Phoebe, born in 1824, were children in a large and loving home of nine brothers and sisters. The two sisters were best-friends and were rarely seen apart from one-another. They would share their days together helping their father in field or assisting their mother with care of the younger children. Their parents, Robert and Elizabeth Cary, were very religious, following the teachings of Universalism. Robert and Elizabeth brought their children up under this umbrella of faith and purity. While working in the field, Robert Cary would sing hymnals to his daughters or recite poetry to them, stirring in them the passion of literature. (Edwards)

      Though the Cary household was filled with love and kindness, the family was not well-off. While their Ohio home was rather nice - granted them by Alice and Phoebe's grandfather, Christopher Cary by the government for his service in the Revolutionary War - the income the family raised from farming was just barely enough to survive. The Cary family was only one of the many "frontier families" trying to make a living out West (at this time in American history, Ohio was considered part of the Western Frontier). The Cary family experienced great tragedy and sorrow in their early life on the frontier. In 1833, Rhonda, the eldest Cary sister, died of tuberculosis. Later that same year, Lucy, only three years of age, also passed of tuberculosis. Alice and Phoebe were devastated, they looked up to Rhonda and to see their little sister Lucy pass so young was heartbreaking. Alice would write two poems dedicated to her departed sisters, The Sisters for Rhonda, and My Little One for Lucy. Then perhaps the most tragic death of all befell the Cary family: in 1835, Elizabeth Cary passed away. (Edwards) (Gu)

Phoebe Cary
      Alice and Phoebe loved writing from an early age, a quality passed to them by their parents. Though the girls were not afforded a proper education in their childhood, they were schooled by their mother and father, particularly by Elizabeth. Robert thought the girls poetry, but their mother learned them on writing, history, religion, and even politics. Since the girls did not have much in the way of an education, they often felt inferior to other children. Later in life the sisters would pursue a higher education. (Edwards)

      After the death of Elizabeth, Robert Cary remarried, and for Alice and Phoebe this spelled their doom. Elizabeth had always supported the girls in their effort and passion for writing, but their new stepmother did not take kindly to the girls' "hobby", saying that writing was a "sinful  waste of time" for girls. Alice and Phoebe's new mother practically forbade the girls to write. However, this did not stave their passion for writing. Alice and Phoebe continued to write in their bedrooms at night, writing by candlelight when their stepmother went to sleep. The young sisters would constantly send their work to publishers in secrecy. Finally, in 1838 when the girls were 18 and 14repectfully, they each were published writers. (Edwards)

      Once they were published, Alice and Phoebe continued to write and were published regularly in journals and papers around Ohio. They wrote prolifically, especially Alice, and readers became quite fond of their work. Then in 1850, the sisters came together and published Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary. This book caught the sisters their first "big break." This publication earned them enough money to move to New York to pursue their future of becoming true big-time writers. (Edwards)

      Alice, the more prolific writer, had great success as a poet, drawing reviews from the great writers of her day; Edgar Allan Poe once complemented Alice for her poem Pictures of Memory as "one of the most musically perfect lyrics in the English language." She also saw success with her sketches on frontier life such as Clovernook, or Recollections of our Neighborhood in the West in 1852 and Pictures of Country Life in 1859. She was also an advocate of justice and women's rights, being nominated as president of the New York Women's Club. Though she was reluctant to accept the position, preferring to display her views in her writing than in public view. (Edwards) (King)

      Phoebe was more open with views on equality than her sister Alice, writing open mockeries of marriage and the treatment of women in her paradises. She was also very outspoken when it came to women's rights. For a shot time, Phoebe was the assistant editor of Susan B. Anthony's newspaper The Revolution. Phoebe Cary was also deeply religious, writing several hymnals and religious verse, some of which became commonplace in many church services. (Edwards)

      Phoebe was also a very caring and compassionate person. In the later of their lives, Alice became very ill, partly due to her extreme daily writing habits, and was bedridden. Phoebe never left her sister's side, ignoring her own health problems. Alice's condition continued to worsen as malaria took hold of her. She finally passed in 1871. Phoebe became very depressed and stopped eating after loosing her best friend and sister. Her friends and family sent her away to the East Coast hoping that the new scene would brighten her spirits. Sadly it did not. Just six months after Alice passed away, Phoebe too departed from our world.
(Edwards)

      The Cary sisters left behind an endearing and enduring legacy. Alice and Phoebe Cary have given this world hundreds of poems and stores to enjoy,  great songs to fill our hearts, and a hope in a brighter future.

Sources:
http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/carysisters.html
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Phoebe_Cary
http://www.librarycompany.org/women/portraits/cary.htm

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for introducing me to these two literary sisters. The style in which you have written makes my own blog feel a slight ache for something more. I suppose our separate style of blogs can compliment each other; the thoughts each provoke is the purpose we post. Right?

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    1. The pleasure of introduction is all mine! I was very happy when I stumbled upon these two wonderful women. I had never known of their existence up until recently; I simply had to share their story! If you want to learn more about the Cary sisters, visit those websites in the "sources" section.
      Our Blogs are different in style. I don't really think I'm Blogging correctly, it is more so an extended exaggeration on a research paper, but in little snippets. To provoke thoughts and emotion, this is the mission of all writing... and art! Don't forget about art!

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    2. Harley, No, I think your blog is spot on. I believe we've hit the aspect of thought provoking word formulas. You are obviously the more studious type; while I am the flighty quirky type. I think our blog grades will be fine.

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