Sydney Owenson: Her Philosophical Focus and 'The Life and Times of Salvator Rosa'

Saint Francis in Ecstacy 

by Salvator Rosa

Courtesy of Google Art

From my book, Innovations in Rhetoric in the Writings of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan), p. 231

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan), a voice representing independent consciousness, does not discriminate between various forms of aristocratic domination and the voice of the common person. Where knowledge and awareness are concerned, she reveals her perspective of the truth as she illustrates in the following passage from her biographical sketch, The Life and Times of Salvator Rosa:

Knowledge, which is supremacy as long only as it is a monopoly, was then the exclusive possession of the clergy; and the intellectual disparity, which existed between the many and the few, long continued to be the instrument of delusions, of which ignorance inevitably becomes the dupe and the victim. (SR, p. 2)

Her purpose for writing evolves from her focus on bringing awareness of the global and historical significance of Ireland to a philosophical focus on the dissemination of knowledge to all thinking individuals. In the above passage, she points out an ‘intellectual disparity’ which exists between those who have been taught through intensive educational programs and consequently, then use that education as an “instrument of delusion.” 

Even though she presents Rosa in a discrete manner, Owenson reveals her disdain for any totalitarian control over the human spirit, be it religious or governmental. She remains devoted to the concept of independent and critical thinking as the way for humanity to advance elevated consciousness. Thus, her biography of Salvator Rosa is a statement on the evolution of human culture and the possibilities that exist when human beings utilize the knowledge they gain in a positive way to enlighten others.