“Pauline Johnson’s physical body died in 1913, but her spirit still communicates to us who are Native women writers. She walked the writing path clearing the brush for us to follow. And the road gets wider and closer each time a Native woman picks up her pen and puts her mark on paper.” (Brant & Laronde 1996: 84).
Emily Pauline Johnson seems to be the mother of all women writers of the First Nations. She is like a spiritual ancestor to all of them.
Emily Pauline Johnson – the daughter of a Native
Canadian father and an English mother – used the Mohawk
name “Tekahionwake” which she took from her greatgrandfather
Jacob Johnson. Being one of the most popular and
successful entertainers and stage performers in Canada at the
turn of the century, Johnson became known as
the “Mohawk Princess”. She was not only one of the few female
writers of her time who managed to earn their living through
writing and performing, but she was also the first Native poet in
Canada who had her work published.
I decided to divide my paper into two main parts. On the one
hand, Emily Pauline Johnson’s biography, her
youth and her family, her career and her
travels, and her identity are to be discussed. On the other hand, I will talk about Johnson’s literary work, especially about “A Pagan In St. Paul’s Cathedral” and “A Red Girl’s Reasoning”. I
will finish my paper by giving a short conclusion to the topic.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Emily Pauline Johnson’s Biography
II. 1. Her Youth And Her Family
II.2. Family Tree
II. 3. Her Career And Her Travels
II. 4. Her Identity
III. Emily Pauline Johnson’s Literary Work
III.1. “A Pagan In St. Paul’s Cathedral”
III.2. “A Red Girl’s Reasoning”
IV. Conclusion
V. Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This academic paper examines the life and literary contributions of the Canadian poet Emily Pauline Johnson, exploring her role as a bridge between Native and non-Native cultures. The study specifically analyzes how her personal identity, her upbringing on the Six Nations Reserve, and her experiences as a performer informed her portrayal of First Nations heritage.
- The biographical background of Emily Pauline Johnson, focusing on her Mohawk and English ancestry.
- The complexities of identity and the "double life" led by a mixed-blood woman in a white-dominated society.
- An analysis of the essay "A Pagan In St. Paul’s Cathedral" regarding cultural and religious perceptions.
- A study of the short story "A Red Girl’s Reasoning" as a critique of colonial attitudes and religious hypocrisy.
Excerpt from the Book
II. 1. Her Youth And Her Family
Emily Pauline Johnson was born March 10, 1861 in Canada on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario. By Canadian law she was Indian for her father George Henry Martin Johnson (1816-1884) was a Mohawk. Her mother was Emily Susanna Howells (1824-1898), a non-Native woman from Ohio, England. Pauline had two older brothers, Henry Beverly (1854-1894) and Alan Wawanosh (1858-1923) and one sister, Eliza Helen Charlotte (1856-1937) who was also called Evelyn or Eva.
Pauline’s ancestor Teyonhehkwea was a member of the first council of the Iroquois Confederacy. The Six Nations were originally made up of only five Indian Nations: the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas and Oneidas. They formed the Iroquois Confederacy. In 1712, the Tuscarora Nation joined the Confederacy. After the Revolutionary War, the confederacy tribes lost much of their land because they had fought for the British. Many of them accepted the offer of the British government to settle on the Grand River, near Brantford, Ontario. Today people from the Grand River Reserve are called Iroquois in French and Six Nations in English.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter introduces Emily Pauline Johnson as a pioneering Native woman writer and outlines the paper's structure regarding her biography and literary works.
II. Emily Pauline Johnson’s Biography: This section provides a comprehensive overview of Johnson's family history, her upbringing at Chiefswood, her career as a performer, and the evolution of her identity.
II. 1. Her Youth And Her Family: This chapter details the birth, family lineage, and early childhood of Pauline Johnson on the Six Nations Reserve.
II.2. Family Tree: This section presents a visual representation of the genealogical connections within the Johnson and Howells families.
II. 3. Her Career And Her Travels: This chapter chronicles Johnson's transition from a local performer to an internationally recognized poet, including her trips to England.
II. 4. Her Identity: This chapter explores the challenges and dualities inherent in being a person of mixed-blood heritage living between two disparate worlds.
III. Emily Pauline Johnson’s Literary Work: This chapter serves as an introduction to the analysis of Johnson's prose and short stories featured in The Moccasin Maker.
III.1. “A Pagan In St. Paul’s Cathedral”: This chapter examines how the essay challenges the differences between indigenous worship and western religious institutions.
III.2. “A Red Girl’s Reasoning”: This chapter analyzes the short story as a commentary on the collision between white legalistic definitions of marriage and indigenous traditions.
IV. Conclusion: This chapter reflects on Johnson's enduring legacy and her role in establishing a voice for First Nations women in literature.
V. Bibliography: This section lists the sources utilized for the research and composition of the paper.
Keywords
Emily Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake, Mohawk Princess, First Nations, Iroquois Confederacy, Mixed-blood, Identity, Literary Criticism, Colonialism, Native American Culture, A Pagan In St. Paul’s Cathedral, A Red Girl’s Reasoning, Literature, Canada, Indigenous Studies
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the life, identity, and literary works of the 19th-century Canadian writer Emily Pauline Johnson, specifically focusing on how she represented Native culture and addressed the challenges of being a mixed-blood woman.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
The central themes include the duality of identity, the clash between Native and white cultural values, the representation of indigenous women in literature, and the critique of colonial religious and legal structures.
What is the primary research question?
The paper seeks to understand how Johnson navigated her dual heritage and how her writing served as a platform to articulate Native perspectives to a broader audience.
Which scientific methods were employed in this study?
The research relies on a biographical and literary analysis approach, synthesizing historical accounts of Johnson's life with a critical examination of her chosen texts.
What topics are covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section covers her family background and upbringing, her career as an internationally acclaimed stage performer, her struggle with illness, and detailed thematic analyses of her essay "A Pagan In St. Paul’s Cathedral" and her short story "A Red Girl’s Reasoning".
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Emily Pauline Johnson, Mohawk Princess, First Nations, mixed-blood identity, cultural clash, indigenous literature, and colonial critique.
How did Emily Pauline Johnson’s family background influence her writing?
Her father's Mohawk heritage and her mother's English background, coupled with her grandfather's storytelling, provided her with a rich cultural tapestry that she later used to write against the stereotypes of the time.
What is the significance of the "A Red Girl’s Reasoning" story in the context of this paper?
The story is highlighted as an important critique of the colonial arrogance that deemed indigenous marriages invalid, showing how Johnson used fiction to challenge the social and religious hypocrisy of her era.
Why was the "Mohawk Princess" persona important for her career?
It allowed her to successfully navigate both white society and indigenous spheres, effectively using the stage to gain visibility for her work while also earning a living as a performer.
- Quote paper
- Dr. phil. Birgit Lonnemann (Author), 1999, Emily Pauline Johnson: "Tekahionwake" or "The Mohawk Princess", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/117715
