"If a thing is right it can be done, and if it is wrong it can be done without; and a good man will find a way"
Anna Sewell, Black Beauty (1877)
In this beloved classic by Anna Sewell, strong, handsome and free-spirited Black Beauty narrates the story of his life. Born to his mother in a loving house with caring humans, he is sold off when times get tough for his owners.
As Black Beauty is passed around from one owner to another, he encounters both adventure and hardship - and a host of friends along the way! An autobiographical memoir, Black Beauty tells stories of love and cruelty in equal parts; but it teaches us to always look for kindness and goodness even in the worst of circumstances.
One of the infinite pleasures of reading is revisiting old classics; books that we have read many years ago with fond memories. I first read Black Beauty many many years ago and pulled it out a little while ago for a reread. There were some things that I remembered, such as Black Beauty experiencing many owners, some kind and some definitely not, but there were also things that I had either forgotten or perhaps not really noticed as a young reader. One of these was the explicit theme about cruelty to animals, and so to my mind makes Black Beauty a surprising but apt choice for the Gaia Reading Challenge.
Anna Sewell (1820-1878) lived a life of love and compassion for others, especially animals and the less privileged. As Quakers, her family was often distressed about the cruel treatment of animals, horses in particular, and were known to publicly protest. Cruelty to horses was a far more public issue in that period because they played such a pivotal role in society in agriculture, transportation, and industry. In fact, many of the incidents of cruelty in Black Beauty were based on the cruelty that Sewell had personally witnessed. One thing I didn't know about Sewell is that she was disabled due to an accident at age 14. While this limited her opportunities to a certain degree, she became quite skilled in driving her own horse-drawn carriage and followed in her mother's footsteps to become a writer. Black Beauty was first published in 1877 and was quite instrumental in changing attitudes and raising awareness about cruelty to animals and eventually led to more humane practices. Unfortunately, Sewell never lived to see the influence of her book, passing away merely 3 months after its publication.
Cover of First Edition published in 1877
When reading the classics we often come across attitudes and writing styles that would not stand up today and Black Beauty is no exception. Quite expectedly there are instances of sexism, and at times the narrative is rather more didactic than we would consider necessary today. However, it is still quite educational about the proper care necessary for horses, and how kind treatment enables a better and more productive human-horse relationship.
The cruelty experienced by Black Beauty and his friends is quite horrific at times, so sensitive readers need to be aware. There is quite a litany of abuses against animals, including provocation, lashing and whipping, and physical modification to fit human ideas about perceived fashion. I don't know who it was that thought cutting off horses tails or little puppies ears and tails was in any way appropriate, but it becomes abundantly clear that for some people, horses were nothing more than servants to be used and abused for their own purposes. Sewell writes...
Many folks would have ridden by and said "'twas not their business to interfere." Now, I say, that with cruelty and oppression it is everybody's business to interfere when they see it...
It just breaks your heart to read about the cruelty meted out to horses and it just beggars my belief that people could be so horribly cruel and inhumane. Cruelty leads to difficult behaviour on the part of the horses, and who could blame them? But it results in a vicious cycle as humans continue to demand obedience and submission, by any means. Horses become injured and deformed directly due to cruel treatment and thus are passed further and further down the line. This depiction of a horse sale paints a bleak picture indeed.
There were a number of poor things, sadly broken down with hard work, with their knees knuckling over and their hind legs swinging out at every step; and there were some very dejected-looking old horses, with the underlip hanging down and the ears lying back heavily, as if there was no more pleasure in life, and no more hope; there were some so thin you might see all their ribs, and some with old sores on their backs and hips. These were sad sights for a horse to look upon, who knows not but he may come to the same state.
In this vicious cycle of wanton brutality and cruelty, death hovers as the only reprieve. The story of Ginger bears horrific testimony to this. Black Beauty had known Ginger earlier in life, but when he meets him again Ginger is barely recognisable. His old and once lively friend was now an...
old worn chestnut, with an ill-kept coat, and bones that showed plainly through it. The knees knuckled over, and the forelegs were very unsteady…(There was a) hopeless look in the dull eye…the joints were grown out of shape with hard work, (and his) face full of suffering...(Ginger said) …I wish I was dead… (and only a short time later Black Beauty ) sees a dead horse in a cart, a lifeless tongue dropping with blood, and sunken eyes…
One of the issues raised throughout the book is the use of "bearing reins." Now often known as an "overcheck" or "checkrein," they can serve as a safety device that prevents the bridle from getting hooked up on a carriage shaft. However, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they were often used inappropriately, holding the horse's head up to an extreme degree - purely for fashion. Owners thought this demonstrated a sense of nobility, but it restricted the horse's breathing, limited their ability to see and move, and shortened their life span. It is quite interesting to note that one of the definitions of "bearing" is "suffering without complaint!" No guesses needed to know who was doing the "bearing."
One of Black Beauty' s owners was particularly pedantic about the use of these bearing reins, demanding her groom: "Are you never going to get those horses heads up, York? Raise them at once, and let us have no more of this humouring and nonsense." This was one practice in which Sewell brought about change. Black Beauty spurred the rise of animal rights activism and the use of bearing reins was eventually banned in England. This was the beginning of anti-cruelty legislation.
Fortunately for Black Beauty, he escapes Ginger's fate, and has a happier ending, enjoying a retirement of "perfect rest, good food, soft turf" at "a lovely home" with a "gentle and kind family."
Of course, not every owner was cruel to their horses. There are many instances of good and kind owners throughout the book, people who were well aware of the debt they owed their horses for the work they did in transportation and agriculture. My grandfather was a farmer all his life and during the 1930s and 1940s had teams of Clydesdales that pulled the farming implements and wagons. My mum remembers these huge gentle giants and also the way that my grandfather cared for his horses. They knew him, trusted him and understood what he asked of them. When he called them by name, each knew when it was their turn to step forward. They each knew their position in the team. If they were harnessed two by two, it was wagon work; if they were in a line it meant they were doing paddock work. It was a reciprocal relationship. He made all their horse shoes and made sure they were fed with plenty of time to digest their breakfast before work time. They were always the first to be fed. Mum remembers how at the age of about four she would walk underneath the bellies of these gentle giants and never once was she stepped on. My grandfather worked with his Clydesdales until 1949, when tractors and engine powered farming machinery began to dominate agriculture but fortunately we do have a handful of old photos of him working with his horse team.
Classics are books that stand the test of time, and while many things have changed since the nineteenth century, Sewell's Black Beauty reminds us that nothing changes when people remain silent and oblivious to the suffering around them. Humans, non-humans and the natural environment - we are all part of the same world, irretrievably interconnected in a reciprocal relationship that will either sustain life or extinguish it. As Sewell says,
Do you know why this world is as bad as it is?…it is because people think only about their business, and won't trouble themselves to stand up for the oppressed, nor bring the wrongdoer to light…my doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.
The Gaia Reading Challenge is hosted by Sharon from Gum Trees and Galaxies. She is already preparing the challenge for 2023, so if you're interested, pop over and have a look.
Happy Reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment