Swift's biting satire and Gulliver’s birthday

Times Past

Jonathan Smyth

This year, ‘Gulliver's Travels’ celebrates its 300th anniversary. The book, of course is more than just a novel, or a children's story and is in fact a political message delivered by the most savage of satirists. In an essay about ‘Swift as a Political Thinker’, the Trinity College historian, R.B. McDowell, pointed out some time ago what John Redmond said: ‘Swift played a strange role in Irish history’ being as he was a ‘fervent Anglican and a Hanoverian Tory’ whose nationalism was slim. Yet, Redmond agreed that Swift did ‘as much … as any man in history to lift Ireland into the position of a nation.’

What Britain was doing in Ireland during Swift’s lifetime was conducted in line with Westminster's rule and, everything they did, was done in the British interest, which as McDowell said, had the effect of arousing Swift's anger.

These grievances suffered by Ireland became the subject of an unpublished tract written by Swift, titled ‘The Injured Lady’, wherein he expresses his thoughts on ‘commercial restrictions’ and the British legislation that ‘made wool a drug to us and a monopoly to them’ and by such a measure had ‘rendered Ireland's ports and harbours to be of no more to us then a beautiful prospect of a man shut up in a dungeon.’

Swift was a person who gave his opinion forcefully and did not shy away from the consequences. In today’s world of ‘cancel culture', one wonders how people would cope with his outrageous wit.

Of all Jonathan's writings, ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is without a doubt his masterpiece. The book exposes human weakness, the banality of those who can instigate war and unmasks unreasonable people who are pedantic in nature. Later, he meets the sensible Houyhnhnms who deal fairly in all matters and act towards others with honesty and sincerity.

Gulliver himself has become an ‘imbalanced’ sort of human being, with his obsession for horses and an intense dislike for his fellow man. Having met the Houyhnhnms, his eyes are opened to the fact that humans are incapable of living up to the ideals of this seemingly perfect race.

‘Gulliver’s Travels’ offers a satirical view of British rule in Ireland by pointing out the gap between those who rule, and the awful treatment meted out to the colonised subjects under their control. British politics and ‘social attitudes’ to the Irish are portrayed allegorically in each of the societies which Gulliver experiences; from his encounter with the tiny Lilliputians, to the giant Brobdingnagians and then the prudent behaviour of the Houyhnhnms.

A part of the book was written while Jonathan was on vacation with Dr Thomas Sheridan his old comrade who lived in Quilca, Mullagh, Co Cavan. Co. Cavan’s remote nature and the locals he met were transformed into characters in his book.

I seem to recall Joyce making derogatory references to Cavan in one of his books, which reminded me of Swift who did not exactly portray the county nor his friend’s house in a very flattering manner. In, 'Blunders, Deficiencies, Distresses and Misfortunes of Quilca', written in 1724, the dear old clergyman described Sheridan’s home at Quilca as a mere ‘hovel’ by mocking the ‘tottering kitchen table, scoffing at the single chair suitable for sitting on’ and complains of the kitchen being 'perpetually crowded with savages'.

Much to the Dean’s dislike, Sheridan turfed him out to work on the bog to 'hoke' around for turf in freezing conditions. But there was 'not a piece of turf’ found ‘in the cold weather’ while ‘(Miss) Johnson and the Dean in person, with all their servants,’ were 'forced to assist at the bog'. It was different to the comfort of the Dean’s pleasant life back at his Deanery in Dublin.

Swift’s satirical impulse to cause offence gleefully was unsparing. I am sure that his great friend Dr Sheridan occasionally despaired at the unvarnished descriptions aimed at Cavan.

Jonathan Swift composed this rather unflattering verse about Cavan:

Dublin, for a city, Dunshaughlin for a plow,

Navan for a market, Ardbracken for a cow;

Kells for an old town, Virginia poor,

Cavan for dirt, and Belturbet for a whore.

Incidentally, Dr Thomas Sheridan the erstwhile clergyman and headmaster of Cavan Royal School was twenty years Dean Swift’s junior. What is more, Swift expected his companion to know his place and to respect his elders.

But he did not and both men’s mischievous and humorous natures were always the source of outrageous fun. Once, Sheridan took a step too far in the eyes of the Dean who lampooned the issue in an essay, titled, ‘To Mr. Delany.’

He said of Sheridan:

Who full of humour, fire and wit,

Not always judges what is fit

But loves to take prodigious rounds,

And sometimes walks beyond his bounds.

In 1735, when Dr Thomas Sheridan was appointed headmaster of Cavan Royal School and invited Swift to visit his new place of abode, which he thought was like an 'Arcadia' compared to his house in Mullagh.

Swift liked to escape to the country, especially when the Irish Parliament began ‘meeting again’ and said: ‘for I am not able to live within the air of such animals.’

In the autumn of 1735, Swift came to stay in Cavan town.

He had injured his shin and could not do much walking, and horse riding was out of the question. Sheridan drummed up a bit of support to make the Dean feel welcome when he got into town.

Jonathan was met by the Burgess and local dignitaries who gathered to greet the eminent visitor. One of the Burgess addressed the group and expressed his gratitude to the Dean for coming to Cavan.

However, instead of thanking the speaker, Swift turned around and mockingly asked him, ‘are you the town sergeant?’

Poor Sheridan, possibly looking perturbed, replied, ‘no, he is not, he is Brooks, our eldest Burgess, and our local apothecary.’

To which Swift undiplomatically responded, ‘I thought so ‘for he spoke as if his mouth was full of drugs.’

Swift enlightened Mrs Whiteway, (his sister-in-law and housekeeper) at the Deanery with stories of his time in Cavan.

His letter stated, 'this is the dirtiest town, and, except some few, the dirtiest people I ever saw, particularly the mistress, daughter and servants of this house.'

Dr Sheridan, I suspect, had to have possessed a very thick skin when it came to Swift’s satirical patter.