Force and Love Behind Bars: An Essay on the word Lock
Andrea Schnarr Integrated Seminar 1: Shift D03 Eric Dean Wilson November 29th, 2017
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Maybe it’s your apartments’ front door, or your car, perhaps your phone or even your emotions. We lock our positions and property to ensure security, in hopes of preventing someone or something unwanted being granted access. The most denotative result for the term lock is to “prevent someone from entering an area, typically being locked with a lock and key”1. One of the first locks created originated in ancient Egypt, in hopes of prevent those unwanted to enter their temples2. They were originally made from wood accompanied by a little wooden key. You would have to enter the key into one of the many cavities of the lock, jingle it around and proceed to the next hole in hopes of allowing the pins within the lock to release. Not ideally the most secure system, but many following civilizations built off of this model. Later came Greek and Roman locks, which were blown out of proportion with some advances in security. Often the keys were curve shaped (similar to the look of a crow bar) and could be carried on the shoulder- a mire reflection of the lock’s size3. Then came Medieval and Gothic locks, most popular in England. Medieval and Gothic locks were used as a way to show
1 The Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed. , “Under Lock and Key”.
2 Nature America Inc.,” Ancient Locks and Keys”, in Scientific American, Vol. 18 No.15 (1868): 226.
3 Ibid.
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off wealth, decorated in beads, and elaborately engraved on a thick face of steel. Proving to people they had something so valuable that they have to contain it from others. Into the early seventeenth-century, the profession of being a locksmith was highly well thought of for one to have the craft and skills to create a physical lock. The French locksmith, M. Reignier, was the first man who created “letter locks”, locks that could only be opened by those who had “the magic word”4. The technology and convenience of locks quickly spread all over Europe. Coincidentally at the same time in France another figure of power took lock-making as his hobby- King Louis the XVI. One who has the key to the lock clearly has possession over what is being locked away, a locksmith has all the more power as he is the one who constructed this restraint. Having the ability and knowledge of lock-making, you would have the access to get anything you wanted. From William Shakespeare’s play, Venus and Adonis, the Spanish proverb of “love laughs at locksmiths” is used. Meaning that no matter what the circumstances are true love will find its way. Shakespeare writes, “Were beauty under twenty locks kept fast, Yet love breaks through, and picks them all at last.”5, metaphorically suggesting that love is the soul way a lock and divide can be defeated. When you think of locks, keys and restraint you often think of a jail. A correctional institution where people who have committed crimes are restrained from society and are 4 Nature America Inc.,”Ancient Locks and Keys”, in Scientific American, Vol. 18 No.15 (1868): 226. 5 The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, edited by Simpson, John, and Jennifer Speake., "Love laughs at locksmiths.", Oxford University Press, 2008.
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physically locked up out of the safety of others. In the eighteenth-century this was very similar to the conventions and concept of the London Lock Asylum. The London Lock Asylum was within The London Lock Hospital, a religious and charitable institution founded in 1747 6. The hospital was for middle class men and women who suffered from venereal diseases. Separate from the hospital, The London Lock Asylum housed prostitutes who were forced to be reformed morally and religiously to fit into societies lower working class norm. During the Victorian era, those of the catholic religion looked for a cure to reform sick women who were sex workers, and sexually deviant. A focus for women who are sex workers is to make money from their occupation to support themselves or their families7. However according to the London Lock Asylum, female prostitutes were aliens of society and had to be treated for their illness. These patients were locked up and exercised with mechanisms such as persuasion, brainwashing, and detention to hopefully make them an acceptable part of society. What’s frustrating is that this institution existed not so long ago and despite no longer having institutions such as these, stigmas that existed then still exist now. Women of this occupation still work today and are still ostracized by society due to the stereotypical traits a woman in that occupation might hold. Society looks for traits and values that make it acceptable to set one apart from another however today it is much more liberating in the sense that these women are no longer held in asylums. 6 Ruiz, Maria Isabel Romero. "Gender Policy, the London Lock Asylum Committee (18361842) and the Asylum Regulations for 1840”. Atlantis 33, no. 2 (2011): 123-36. 7 Ruiz, María Isabel Romero. "Gender Policy, the London Lock Asylum Committee (18361842) and the Asylum Regulations for 1840”. Atlantis 33, no. 2 (2011): 123-36.
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People say the occupation of sex working is not mainstream, but if it has not been seen as mainstream since the opening of The London Lock Asylum in 1747 and today in 2017, it is evident that this is an issue with society and their confining norms. Two-hundred and seventy years is plenty enough time for someone’s personal life/profession of choice to become mainstream or acceptable. Contrasting to issues today in society and in the media, the transaction of consensual sex with a prostitute is societies’ lesser issues when it comes to people’s personal sex lives. Misdemeanor of sexual relations is something the media has been very familiar with lately. Men like Al Franken, Russell Simmons, Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinsstein, and let’s not forget The President of The United States have all been accused of assaulting multiple women or men. Almost all of them, white males of privilege, power and money. Sixty- three women from the film-industry have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault 8. From forcing himself on them, to inappropriate massages, and forcible oral sex, these are some of the accusations made from the sixty-three allegedly assaulted women. The word ‘force’ does not seem very consensual. New York Court’s penal law 130.95 regards the possible conviction for one that commits predatory sexual assault and penal law 130.20 illustrates the resulting of a sexual misconduct charge (sexual intercourse under forcible compulsion). Both of these penal laws result in a Aii conviction leading the defendant up for thirty to sixty months locked up in prison 9. By the New York State Court System, a sexual misconduct charge is simply defined when “Sexual intercourse 8 Desta, Yohana. Busis, Hillary. “ These Are the Women Who Have Accused Harvey Weinstein of Sexual Harassment and Assault”. Vanity Fair (2017)
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takes place WITHOUT A PERSON’S CONSENT”, as if the capital letters do not spell it out clear enough. For both sexual assault charges and sexual misconduct charges all that is required to prove one guilty is information such as the date, country of when the event took place, as well as the defendants name and the name of the complainant. Finally, all one must do is state that the event was not consensual, but we know it is not that simple in the real-life court system. Who really belongs locked behind bars? Both men and women need to be held against their wrongdoings, of not being consensual with their counterpart. Eliminate your bias for what women or men do for a living. Society judges people enough so why put additional pressures on people who are just trying to support themselves and do their job fairly. We need to judge a little less and listen a little more. Listen to victims, listen to your partners, and listen to your friends. Support the men and women who have opened up and shared their story with the hashtag #MeToo.
9 New York State Unified Court System. “Predatory Sexual Assault”. New York Courts, (2006): 1-6.
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Annotated Bibliography
Nature America Inc., “Ancient Locks and Keys”, in Scientific American, Vol. 18 No.15 (1868): 226. This brief article on ancient locks and keys recites the history of locks from different cultures and societies dating back to ancient Egypt and the Romans. Despite its short length, the article provides many examples on the different crafts of locks from different time periods within societies. For example, it looks at varieties of locks in Dutch, English, French, Chinese, and Egyptian societies. It also is able to compare and contrast each periods technology and craft of lock making. Normally one would think an article from 1868 is too old to be relevant on the subject, however this article in particular really looks back at the hand crafting of locks throughout history- it ignores the shortcuts of modern day technology. This article on locks is real and makes it easy to identify that at the time this piece was written, locks were a form of technology that people were interested in for a multitude of reasons. Unique to this article that dates back to 1868, is that there is no pictures used but there are poems to divide and enhance paragraphs. It is actually more effective when reading, as it adds someone’s emotions, and narratives towards the subject of lock making and the importance of locks throughout history.
MacFarlane, L. R. S., and H. W. Daukes. "Iodine Lockets." The British Medical Journal 1, no. 3886 (1935): 1343. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25344673. In this brief British based medical article it discusses the use and popularity of Iodine lockets during the early Twentieth Century. One would be very familiar with the concept of a locket
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being a necklace that contains a sentimental photo, however this article surprising explains the reasoning and importance behind medical lockets. Iodine lockets were used to combat the exposure to bacteria that could infect or sicken people. For rural parts of England this was an effective “treatment” that doctors gave to those who could not make multiple trips to a doctor or to those that could not afford further medical treatments. The writing of this article is similar to the first source in which they are an article within a journal of many other articles. This article is also very dated, from 1935. Yet it works to its advantage at explaining what medical lockets are as appose to now a days where we are more familiar with modern health care technologies.
Ruiz, Maria Isabel Romero. “Gender Policy, the London Lock Asylum Committee (1836-1842) and the asylum regulations for 1840”. Atlantis 33, no. 2 (2011): 123-36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41473832. This lengthy scholarly journal is more recently published in 2011 on the topic of The London Lock Asylum. The London Lock Asylum was a system that imprisoned female sexworkers or those with venereal diseases in a ‘hospitallike’ setting. This institution was in place in England from the early eighteenth century up until the mid-twentieth century. These asylums were run by the church and were believed to be a well thought of institution that would religiously and morally construct these women to re-enter into the world with the ability to receive a working class job. The author does not agree or disagree with the concept of The London Lock Asylum but constructs a decent sized overview on the subject. To help readers get a better understanding on the topic the journal includes charts from patients, meal plans, and testimonies from those inside the asylum. This is an interesting topic that has the key word of “Lock” in it. It can be applied to an essay in a creative and relevant way.
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New York State Unified Court System. “Predatory Sexual Assault”. New York Courts, (2006): 16. http://www.nycourts.gov/judges/cji/2-PenalLaw/130/130.95(1)(a).pdf Easily accessible to the public on the New York State Unified Court System website is the state’s sexual misconduct policy. A six-page long excerpt gives readers clarification on the consequences of sexual assault and misconduct in the terms of an A-ii felony. An A-ii felony may result from three to eight years in prison. It defines the courts meaning of terms such as “sexual intercourse” and “consent”, along with different circumstances in which one can be persecuted are definitions and terms that illustrate the guilty or not guilty verdict. Clear in this brief policy it is clear that one must has documentation of the events against the defendant. This information can be resourceful for modern day sexual assault or misconduct allegations and trial cases… this is very relevant.
The Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed. , “Under Lock and Key”. To be “Under Lock and Key”. Firstly The Cambridge dictionary defends being “Under Lock and Key” is to be locked away safely. The other definition is “If a person, especially a criminal, is under lock and key, they are being kept in place from which they cannot escape, usually a prison.”.
Desta, Yohana. Busis, Hillary. “ These Are the Women Who Have Accused Harvey Weinstein of Sexual Harassment and Assault”. Vanity Fair (2017) The previous thought provoking article that Vanity Fair had published on women in Hollywood was on the gender pay-gap in Hollywood. This article however explores another
Schnarr 10 issue women in Hollywood face which is sexual harassment. 63 allegations on sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, all of whom on of the most powerful men in Hollywood, Harvey Weinstein faces. This article goes in debt on each of the 63 women’s remarks and allegations towards Weinstein. It reviews the start, the tipping point and the current stance that the story has unfolded, it is unknown what will happen next and what moves this story will take.
"Love laughs at locksmiths." In The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, edited by Simpson, John, and Jennifer Speake. : Oxford University Press, 2008. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199539536.001.0001/acref9780199539536-e-1350. Definition of the term “Love laughs at a locksmith”, meaning that a grand expression or inkling of “love will find a way”. Used poetically, and could be a strong tie to topics within the essay on locks. This phrase is derived from a Spanish proverb and is used in Shakespeare Venus and Adonis.