[Vwoolf] Nigs, nicknames, & racial slurs

Tue Feb 12 14:19:30 EST 2019

Ellen Lee wrote to remind us of this piece on The Dreadnought Hoax &
Woolf's blackface in light of the current conversation:

https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-time-virginia-woolf-wore-blackface

All my best,

Anne

On Mon, Feb 11, 2019 at 2:09 PM Alice E. Staveley via Vwoolf <
vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> Thanks so much, Anne, for bringing attention to this important topic, and
> to all who have responded with articles, books, and memories we can bring
> into our classes as well.
>
> And lest we forget how nicknames as racial slurs still serve the bonding
> rituals of educated men, we need only look to last week’s *New York Times*
> — ‘history in the raw’ — especially the last paragraph:
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2019/02/01/us/politics/01reuters-virginia-politics.html
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_reuters_2019_02_01_us_politics_01reuters-2Dvirginia-2Dpolitics.html&d=DwMGaQ&c=aqMfXOEvEJQh2iQMCb7Wy8l0sPnURkcqADc2guUW8IM&r=k1OoytuRmrU4MiIwbI-7ElFohPGR5Vr0JxDyMjG9DsI&m=aK1k1BFwGcD9VjXDESsm7mgYyczmq4dtaf7nXrI74ao&s=Qq9KwAdps2FNVMMx_Kn9ykOuawWdP9FkdGVllfZ6ORU&e=>
>
> Best wishes
> Alice
>
> Alice Staveley, DPhil
> Lecturer
> Department of English
> Stanford University
> Director | Honors English
> Director | Digital Humanities Minor
> http://www.modernistarchives.com
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.modernistarchives.com&d=DwMGaQ&c=aqMfXOEvEJQh2iQMCb7Wy8l0sPnURkcqADc2guUW8IM&r=k1OoytuRmrU4MiIwbI-7ElFohPGR5Vr0JxDyMjG9DsI&m=aK1k1BFwGcD9VjXDESsm7mgYyczmq4dtaf7nXrI74ao&s=Aow5L0T5nCNoV-_Xb8hlgOMkP9iHgFtZRTg1IQI2r7E&e=>
>
> On Feb 9, 2019, at 1:22 PM, Christine Froula via Vwoolf <
> vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>
> For what it's worth: Henry Louis (Skip) Gates rediscovered, edited, and
> published Our Nig during the years when we were colleagues in the English
> department at Yale. I still cherish the copy he bestowed on me with a
> radiant smile.
>
> Christine
> On 2/9/2019 1:48 PM, Linda Camarasana via Vwoolf wrote:
>
> Anne--
>
> Are you familiar with this book, *Our Nig* by Harriet E. Wilson?
>
>
> https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/191882/our-nig-by-harriet-e-wilson/
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.penguinrandomhouse.com_books_191882_our-2Dnig-2Dby-2Dharriet-2De-2Dwilson_&d=DwMFaQ&c=yHlS04HhBraes5BQ9ueu5zKhE7rtNXt_d012z2PA6ws&r=B2e-UKKhnYe5lrEq8NEkMf9o4KvCJF-4y7Z7WnzjMp0&m=aoIgiHmOu_m5D7ypY4xZ5vVrnwy24VfT5OQ49gLY6Ug&s=1YH_nYXCv0s6vN0m7Yuu1Bc84yfHapwWjr2_2vC3O-c&e=>
>
> --Linda
>
> *Linda Camarasana*
> *Associate Professor and Department Chair, English*
> *Director, Women's Center*
> *SUNY College at Old Westbury*
> *Old Westbury, NY 11568*
> *camarasanal at oldwestbury.edu <camarasanal at oldwestbury.edu>*
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Feb 9, 2019 at 11:35 AM Anne Fernald via Vwoolf <
> vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>
>> When Stuart first sent this email, the subject line made me gasp. It was
>> too close to the racial slur. Which made me wonder: might Lord Cecil's
>> nickname be connected to the racial slur? Given the frequency of references
>> to "n*** brown" as a descriptor of clothing in the teens, twenties, and
>> thirties, I think it might. I looked in the OED, and yes, "nig" is short
>> for the racial slur:
>> nig, n.3
>> [...]
>> *colloq.* and *regional* (usually *derogatory* and *offensive*).
>> Thesaurus »
>> Categories »
>>
>>   = nigger n.
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.oed.com.avoserv2.library.fordham.edu_view_Entry_126934-23eid34821604&d=DwMFaQ&c=yHlS04HhBraes5BQ9ueu5zKhE7rtNXt_d012z2PA6ws&r=B2e-UKKhnYe5lrEq8NEkMf9o4KvCJF-4y7Z7WnzjMp0&m=aoIgiHmOu_m5D7ypY4xZ5vVrnwy24VfT5OQ49gLY6Ug&s=yQHDTtI88dTqZ3xMbpLl8Gu204i1sUjSOhv2-QSFin8&e=>
>>    (in various senses).
>> *c*1832   T. D. Rice *Jim Crow* x   De Nigs in ole Virginny Be so black
>> dey shine.
>> 1840   *Daily Picayune (New Orleans) *20 Sept. 2/2   Two little nigs..had
>> a most scientific set-to at the corner.
>> 1860   R. F. Burton *Lake Regions Central Afr.* I. 137   He resents..the
>> name of ‘Nigger’, or ‘Nig’—Jupiter Tonans has heard of the offensive
>> dissyllable..but has he heard of the more offensive monosyllable which was
>> forced upon the abbreviating Anglo-Saxon by the fatal necessity of
>> requiring to repeat the word so frequently?
>> 1879   Mrs. A. G. F. E. James *Indian Househ. Managem.* 43   Treat your
>> servants as fellow-creatures, not as ‘nigs’—a term too often applied..to
>> the Indian natives.
>> 1916   J. B. Cooper *Coo-oo-ee* xvi. 245   He never wipes the glass
>> slobbered over by dozens of dirty nigs!
>>
>> As to why Lord Cecil might have that nickname, short of consulting the
>> full bio, I can only conjecture. Was he darker complected than his family
>> members? Was it because of his colonial work in Egypt? Or, like lots of
>> nicknames, did it come from some more obscure bit of personal history.
>>
>> In any case, watching this conversation unfold simultaneously with some
>> pretty sorry racial incidents of blackface here in the U.S. and it struck
>> me that it would be disingenuous to pretend that Lord Cecil's nickname,
>> Nigs, was unconnected to the history of racism.
>>
>> Anne
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 3:57 PM Peter D L Stansky via Vwoolf <
>> vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks Stuart for the mention of the Rudikoff book as I was involved
>>> with its publication.  It was published by SPOSS, the Society for the
>>> Promotion of Science and Scholarship and copies should still be available
>>> on Amazon at very low prices. SPOSS also published my *William Morris
>>> to Sergeant Pepper *which contains a section on Bloomsbury.
>>>
>>>
>>> Best to all, Peter
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from Mail
>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__go.microsoft.com_fwlink_-3FLinkId-3D550986&d=DwMF-g&c=aqMfXOEvEJQh2iQMCb7Wy8l0sPnURkcqADc2guUW8IM&r=k1OoytuRmrU4MiIwbI-7ElFohPGR5Vr0JxDyMjG9DsI&m=qyC0djSWGOis3bIRcrZ5AQTDuN0kuzUn86jxKSbvXVU&s=DJrvzvPLqyfbMbrWGziL0rk5IoMKxV2bnOHKyBcHc2s&e=>
>>> for Windows 10
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>> *From:* Vwoolf <vwoolf-bounces+stansky=stanford.edu at lists.osu.edu> on
>>> behalf of Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu>
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 6, 2019 1:03:27 AM
>>> *To:* Barbara Lounsberry
>>> *Cc:* vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Vwoolf] Nigs
>>>
>>> Ref. to Lord Edward Cecil, L1 189.  For anything to do with the
>>> aristocracy & VW, it’s worth starting with a rarely referenced, but
>>> excellent book, RUDIKOFF, Sonya, "Ancestral Houses: Virginia Woolf and the
>>> Aristocracy" (1999).
>>>
>>> Stuart
>>>
>>> *From:* Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf
>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 5, 2019 4:24 PM
>>> *To:* Barbara Lounsberry
>>> *Cc:* vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Vwoolf] Nigs
>>>
>>> Making the grenadier connection is even more persuasive.  I think we
>>> might be able to search VW’s connections to the Cecils to find how close
>>> (as it were) she ever got to Lord Edward. Kitty Maxse’s husband Leo was a
>>> brother of Lady Violet, Lord Edward’s wife.
>>>
>>> Stuart (whose mother was born in Lasswade)
>>>
>>> *From:* Barbara Lounsberry
>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 5, 2019 4:14 PM
>>> *To:* Stuart N. Clarke
>>> *Cc:* vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Vwoolf] Nigs
>>>
>>> Stuart:
>>>
>>> Thank you for your illuminating (and, to me, very persuasive)
>>> information on Lord Edward Cecil and Edward Pargiter of *The Years*.
>>>
>>> Your reference to Lord Cecil and the Grenadier Guards makes me wish to
>>> add that I believe Woolf associated Kitty Malone in *The Years *with
>>> Sir Walter Scott (Woolf's own diary "father").  Kitty's married name is
>>> Lasswade (name of Scott's home) and she much prefers the north over
>>> Oxford and London.  Kitty is call "The Grenadier."  In the British Army, a
>>> grenadier was a member of the first regiment of household infantry.
>>> Grenadiers were specially selected foot soldiers in elite units who threw
>>> grenades.  Thus Woolf links Kitty to both Scott and to female household
>>> battle.
>>>
>>> Hope this adds.  No doubt you can add more to this.
>>>
>>> Barbara Lounsberry
>>>
>>> On Tue, Feb 5, 2019 at 4:31 AM Stuart N. Clarke via Vwoolf <
>>> vwoolf at lists.osu.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>>> You will recall that that’s Eleanor’s nickname for Edward Pargiter in
>>>> “The Years” (mentioned 4 times).  Apparently, that was VWS and HN’s name
>>>> for Nigel (see CUP edn 420 39:13).  But why should that be a nickname for
>>>> *Edward*?
>>>>
>>>> I’ve found a more persuasive inspiration for the nickname.  The family
>>>> called Lord Edward Cecil, Nigs, although I don’t know why.  Perhaps if I
>>>> looked up a biography, I would find out.  Anyway, see here from the ODNB:
>>>>
>>>> *Cecil, Lord Edward Herbert Gascoyne-* (1867–1918), army officer and
>>>> administrator, was born in London on 12 July 1867, the fourth son and
>>>> sixth of eight children of Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, third
>>>> marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)
>>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.oxforddnb.com_documentId_odnb-2D9780198614128-2De-2D32339&d=DwMF-g&c=aqMfXOEvEJQh2iQMCb7Wy8l0sPnURkcqADc2guUW8IM&r=k1OoytuRmrU4MiIwbI-7ElFohPGR5Vr0JxDyMjG9DsI&m=qyC0djSWGOis3bIRcrZ5AQTDuN0kuzUn86jxKSbvXVU&s=_Dm347sgnWdyczaPMUmROSSnrAT212c-y14fJSB-GsM&e=>,
>>>> prime minister, and his wife, Georgina Caroline (1827–1899), daughter
>>>> of Sir Edward Hall Alderson and his wife, Georgina Drewe. Known to his
>>>> family as Nigs, and to friends as Ned, Edward Cecil was educated
>>>> privately and at Eton College, and was commissioned in the Grenadier
>>>> Guards in 1887.
>>>>
>>>> Stuart
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Vwoolf mailing list
>>>> Vwoolf at lists.osu.edu
>>>> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwoolf
>>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.osu.edu_mailman_listinfo_vwoolf&d=DwMF-g&c=aqMfXOEvEJQh2iQMCb7Wy8l0sPnURkcqADc2guUW8IM&r=k1OoytuRmrU4MiIwbI-7ElFohPGR5Vr0JxDyMjG9DsI&m=qyC0djSWGOis3bIRcrZ5AQTDuN0kuzUn86jxKSbvXVU&s=qw59rVg1BLl0yf-QCFOo4eqDHuZ5PJ-FBTCfFCHM4jM&e=>
>>>>
>>> ------------------------------
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Anne E. Fernald
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.fordham.edu_info_24101_anne-5Ffernald&d=DwMFaQ&c=yHlS04HhBraes5BQ9ueu5zKhE7rtNXt_d012z2PA6ws&r=B2e-UKKhnYe5lrEq8NEkMf9o4KvCJF-4y7Z7WnzjMp0&m=aoIgiHmOu_m5D7ypY4xZ5vVrnwy24VfT5OQ49gLY6Ug&s=jTQBG1R_C-sK0u-U3vJ-NdyALbVg4-BYTraWCd1KEfo&e=>
>>  (she/her)
>> Professor of English and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
>> Special Advisor to the Provost for Faculty Development
>> fernald at fordham.edu
>>
>> Rose Hill: Cunniffe 211
>> 718-817-3034
>>
>> Lincoln Center: Martino Hall 422
>> 212-636-7613
>>
>> Spring 2019 Office Hours: T/F 9:15-11:00 at Lincoln Center & by appt.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Vwoolf mailing list
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>>
>
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Anne E. Fernald <http://www.fordham.edu/info/24101/anne_fernald> (she/her)
Professor of English and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Special Advisor to the Provost for Faculty Development
fernald at fordham.edu

Rose Hill: Cunniffe 211
718-817-3034

Lincoln Center: Martino Hall 422
212-636-7613

Spring 2019 Office Hours: T/F 9:15-11:00 at Lincoln Center & by appt.
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