Ann Eliza Young's Purpose

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

She wrote such a huge book, stuffed with facts, loaded with opinions, and drenched in detail. Why?

Well, let me show you what she said in the beginning of her book:

"I have taken the liberty of describing your* characters and situations. I was not prompted by the slightest animosity toward you, but because the public are interested in you, and curious concerning you, and I felt that I could give to the world a true story of your lives, and, at the same time, do you justice, and let you be seen as you are in my eyes, which are not dimmed by prejudice. I was driven to the course I am pursuing by sheer desperation, as some of you, with whom I have exchanged confidences, well know."

*(your, you, etc.) The wives of Brigham Young

From this passage, she tells us her motive for writing this book was for the education of the public and the eye-opening of polygamous wives about which she said, "I look upon your lives with pity." However, because of some of the sarcastic rants she runs away on in her book, I believe that her intent was not solely "for the people."

A.E. Young explains the aspects of Mormonism and how they relate to her much like a very miffed person would explain a situation when you ask them, "What's wrong?" No doubt there is bias in her explanation, as there would be in any argument, so in some parts it can't be seen as a very fair depiction of Mormonism for "the public." However, I think this is a good thing, not only by giving us a strong point of view, but for her conscious as well. I beieve she started out writing this book in the interest of the non-Mormon public and on the behalf of the Mormon women still enslaved in polygamy, but it eventually evolved into an outlet for years of repressed anger, hate, depression, and regret. I think of it as a therapy of sorts for a socially appropriate lady who had a solid education, quick wit, and a sharp tongue that she couldn't use in public, but was able to hide in a book for the unsuspecting reader to encounter.

I will admit, she makes a slight reference to this "therapy" in her explanation of why she wrote the book, and how she did it out of "sheer desperation." But, as she clearly states in the same line, only those "with whom [she] exchanged confidences" truly knew of her deep despair. While I believe she exposed much of her hurt and heartbreak in this book, I think she carried her most troubling trials and burdens to her grave.