Contexts: Chrysal

Context 1: The Golden Spy, Charles Gildon (1709)

             The Golden Spy was one of the first it-narratives that featured coins as the object which tells the story. It was written by Charles Gildon and published in 1709.  In this novel, there were many coins from several different nations such as France, Spain and England. These coins like Chrysal, traveled and had many adventures.  I think The Golden Spy was not as successful as Chrysal because of the time period it was written. Chrysal's time was ripe for a novel such as this with the amount of gossip and political intrigue that it contained.  Also Gildon was considered a hack write so the overall quality of The Golden Spy might be questionable.

Context 2: Guinea (1681) / Guinea (1759) 

              The guinea was a gold coin introduced by King Charles II following the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Charles II had ordered to replace the previous currencies of the "usurpers" (Stride 387) he had taken the throne from. The first guineas put into circulation March of 1663. A guinea gets its name, which may only be a colloquial term and not its official title, from to the gold's origins in the Guinea region of Africa. The original value of a guinea was one pound, or twenty shillings, and as the prices of gold and silver fluctuated the gold guinea had peaked at about 150% of its original value. The most common value of the guinea was 21 shillings and stayed fixed there for nearly 100 years. An interesting feature of the guinea coins was the inclusion of the source of gold in some occasions, such as being provided by the East India Company or as spoils from the Battle of Vigo Bay. Guineas were replaced by sovereigns in 1816. Chrysal is in the form of a guinea for the majority of Chrysal, speaking of his transformation as entering a state of "sublunary influence" and "becoming the price of every name, that is respected under heaven" (Johnstone 70). As this new high-value worldly object, Chrysal is able to be passed on easily between persons of power and civilians alike to tell the story Johnstone wished. Chrysal would have been minted into the form of a guinea within George II's reign.

Context 3: The King James Bible (1611)

              The Bible that would have been used at the time that Chrysal was written was the King James Version or the Authorized Version. The English translation of the Bible for the Church of England began in 1604 and was completed in 1611. According to Thomas Schirrmacher, the King James Version replaced the Protestant Geneva Bible, which only included the New Testament, and the Bishops Bible, most commonly used by the Christian clergy. The change was initiated by Dr John Reynolds (1549-1607), President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He wanted a Bible that was widely accepted (Schirrmacher). During this time, changes were not just seen in the usage of scripture, but the Englightenment of the the 18^th century brought new views of scripture as well. Before the Enlightenment, the most influential texts were the Kings James version of the Bible, and the classics, such as Aristotle. However, the scientific discoveries of this time, and the increased emphasis on reason and the discovery of such brought scripture under scrutiny.

                Charles Johnstone, in his writing of Chrysal undoubtedly scrutinizes the culture and society of 1760 and the recent years prior to Chrysal’s publishing. Religion is one such idea he criticizes, satirizes, and characterizes. Examples of religion in Chrysal, not limited to Christianity and the King James Version of the Bible are Antisemetism as seen in the act of sacrificing Christian children and more than one corrupt minister as a character of which Chrysal is owned. Scripture is even directly quoted by characters and alluded to by Johnstone. One instance of the quoting of scripture is during the folly and arguments that occurred during the Doctor, Matron, Minister, and ballad-singer. The Doctor quotes Matthew 7:3 to the Matron, “take the beam out of thine own eye, before you find fault with the mote in your neighbor’s!” (Johnstone 280). Later in Chrysal, honest Aminadad reveals to his son his plan to sail to Africa, though her Grace is not aware. He recited a section of Leviticus 24:19-20, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. The entirety of those verses are “Anyone who mains another shall suffer the same injury in return: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: the injury inflicted is the injury to be suffered” (Johnstone 315). The Enlightenment brought inspection of the culture and society. That is obvious in Chrysal. People of 1760 wished to explain human nature, thoughts, and ideas with science and reason. They criticized biblical standards, even publically revealed the corruption of the church. All of that is evident in Chrysal, yet the characters still quote scripture as a means to judge other character’s supposedly unmoral deeds. Johnstone discloses the idea that though the church was being highly criticized, the moral standards of the King James Version of the bible were still the moral standards everyone held each other too. It is obvious through the plot of Chrysal that the characters did hold themselves to the same moral standards; Chrysal is revealing of much corruption. However, scripture was openly quoted in the novel by characters, as well as biblical events alluded to by Johnstone. Chrysal reveals that the Enlightenment did not slay religion, but people publically analyzed and reinterpreted it’s use in society.

Context 4: The Fable of the Bees, Bernard de Mandeville (1714)

Charles Johnstone addresses the importance of vice vs. virtue throughout his novel Chrysal.  His declaration of vices as “advantageous to the community as they are prejudicial to individuals” (120) speaks to Bernard de Mandeville’s satiric representation of the 18^th Century moral philosophy of vice in The Fable of the Bees, or, Private Vices Publick Benefits. Mandeville’s political novel originally began as the poem “The Grumbling Hive” in 1705 which he developed further with additions of prose, essays and fables with the key point that private vice benefits the economic and public community (Harth 322).  The satirical tone of his commentaries was similar to Johnstone’s Chrysal as it identified the civil society’s exploitation of human weakness. However, where Chrysal was widely popular and praised upon publication, The Fable of the Bees was highly criticized partly for its claims that religions were a means for extending sovereign power over the common man.

Context 5: Painting of Kitty Fisher, Joshua Reynolds (1759) 

              This is a photo of Kitty Fisher, we meet Fisher in Chapter II as the Portress of Venus. She is an extremely famous courtesan who was essentially famous for being famous.  She had many artists paint her portraits and these portraits were sold everywhere as many different things.  This portrait was done by Joshua Reynolds.  Fisher was often a character in poems, magazines, ads and of course as we see her in Chrysal. This is just one of the many examples of real well - known people that show up throughout Chrysal. Chrysal is only in Fishers possession for a moment before he is given to Fishers mistress.  

Context 6: “A Sure Guide to Hell, in Seven Sections” by Benjamin Bourn (1751)

Benjamin Bourn’s “A Sure Guide to Hell, in Seven Sections” by Belzebub (another name for the Devil), is a comprehensive guide written for anyone who could want to learn the ways into Hell. Unlike many other publications of its time, “A Sure Guide to Hell” does not explain or preach about how to behave virtuously or how to get into Heaven; rather, it outlines different behaviors and actions that will guarantee a person’s place in Hell. Belzebub addresses readers, “And now, my child, let me lead thee by the hand thro’ the secret Paths of Malice, Envy, Treachery, and Ingratitude; likewise thro’ the more open Roads of Pride, Profaneness, Debauchery, Violence, Faction, and Rebellion” (22). Comparing the attention to vice in Johnstone’s Chrysal with “A Sure Guide to Hell”, many of Johnstone’s character’s vices fall within the “Paths” and “Roads” Belzebub knows well. Characters in Chrysal would likely and readily agree with Belzebub’s opinions about virtuous people; “let those insipids I say, confine themselves within the narrow Bounds of Sobriety, Temperance, Chastity, &c. but do thou whose restless spirit scorns to be curb’d […] enjoy thyself at Ease, without Solicitude or Fear” (24). “A Sure Guide to Hell” parallels Chrysal in its unique and unusual focus on displaying vice over virtue as a means of encouraging virtuous behavior among their readers.