Literature in Context
An Open Anthology of Literature in English, 1400-1925

The Female American; Or, The Adventures of Unca Eliza Winkfield (Vol. II)
By Unca Eliza Winkfield

Textual editing, annotation, and encoding by students and staff at the University of Oregon. Project Leadership by Mattie Burkert. Textual Editing by Chris Lozano, Intisar Alshammari. Technical Editing by Georgia Barrus, Payton Bell, Anthony Borgatta, Tessa Campbell, Sophie Cannon, Ava Chimienti, Isabelle Dana, Olivia Ellerbruch, Jacob Gittelman, Toby Hausler, Rachel Kesich, Kayla Kuo, Sophia Lynn, Mac Maher, Ella Marinace, Jesse Murphy, Claire O'Connor, Broc Rasmussen, Jacob Waufle, Zach Wergeland, Nahla Wilson, Sydney Wolfe. Annotation Research by Elizabeth Bohls, Hanna Beleck, Bridget Collins, Kloee Dillingham, Milan Geurin, Esmeralda Gonzalez, Madeline Peil, Alex Pelayo
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Sources

London: Printed for Francis Noble, at his Circulating Library, Opposite Gray's- Inn Gate, Holbourn; AND John Noble, at his Circulating Library, in St. Martin's-Court, near Leicefter-Square. MDCCLXVIIn.d.Page images from this 1767 first edition are provided courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library and were retrieved from the Internet Archive. Northeastern University - Snell Library 213, Boston, MA 02115-5005 : Women Writers Project, 2024A key data source for this project was generously provided by the Women Writers Project of Northeastern University.Provided data consists of the XML-encoded primary text, associated schema, and related documentation. The Women Writers Project (https://www-wwp-northeastern-edu.uoregon.idm.oclc.org/) is a long-term researh project devoted to early modern women's writing and electronic text encoding as part of the Digital Scholarship Group at Northeastern University. (https://dsg.northeastern.edu/). The provided XML file and associated data underlie the Women Writer's Project's text of Volume 2 in the Women Writers Online collection and was provided upon request.

Editorial Statements

Research informing these annotations draws on publicly-accessible resources, with links and/or Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) provided where possible. Glosses of archaic words and word usages are derived from the Oxford English Dictionary Online, accessed through the University of Oregon Libraries. Annotations also include common knowledge, defined as information that can be found in multiple reliable sources. If you notice an error in these annotations, please contact lic.open.anthology@gmail.com.
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Original spelling and capitalization is retained, though the long s has been silently modernized and ligatured forms are not encoded. Additional redundant quotation marks have been removed, and quotation marks modernized for ease of reading.

Hyphenation has not been retained, except where necessary for the sense of the word.

Page breaks have been retained. Catchwords, signatures, and running headers have not. Unnumbered pages are labeled by signature. Where pages break in the middle of a word, the complete word has been indicated at the top of the new page. Where footnotes in the original continue across a page break, the full text of the note is associated with the first page in the range.

Materials have been transcribed from and checked against first editions, where possible. See the sources section.

Citation

Winkfield, Unca Eliza. The Female American; or, The Adventures of Unca Eliza Winkfield. Compiled by herself. In two volumes. , Printed for Francis Noble, at his Circulating Library, Opposite Gray's- Inn Gate, Holbourn; AND John Noble, at his Circulating Library, in St. Martin's-Court, near Leicefter-Square. MDCCLXVII , II . Literature in Context: An Open Anthology. http://anthologydev.lib.virginia.edu/work/Winkfield/winkfield-female-american-2. Accessed: 2025-06-07T02:53:35.609Z

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A1r THE Female American;
 OR, THE ADVENTURES
OF UNCA ELIZA WINKFIELD,
COMPILED BY HERSELF.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
 LONDON:
 Printed for FRANCIS NOBLE, at his Circulating
Library, opposite Gray's-Inn Gate, Holbourn;
AND JOHN NOBLE, at his Circulating Library library Athena (identified by her shield) and Apollo (identified by his lyre) sit on clouds surrounding a monument of books adorned with flowers labeled 'J. Noble's Circulating Library'. The caption reads 'L'ectorem delectando panterque monendo. - Hor.'Source: Apollo and Athena invite a reader to enjoy John Noble's library of educational and entertaining books. Frontispiece illustration to 'A new catalogue of the large and valuable collection of books: (both English and French) in John Noble's circulating library. Consisting of several thousand volumes...which are lent to read,' circa 1761. Public domain image, Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Collections. Francis and John Noble were booksellers and publishers who ran a successful circulating library starting in the 1740s. Rochelle Raineri Zuck speculates that The Female American may have been the product of the "stable of writers" the Nobles employed "to produce new work at a rapid pace" for their libraries-something like the eighteenth-century equivalent of Internet content farms. See Zuck, "Who Wrote The Female American?" in English Literary History 89.3 (2022): 669. DOI:10.1353/elh.2022.0023. - [UOStudStaff] , in
St. Martin's-Court, near
Leicester-square.
MDCCLXVII.
Page A1rPage A1r

Footnotes

library_ Athena (identified by her shield) and Apollo (identified by his lyre) sit on clouds surrounding a monument of books adorned with flowers labeled 'J. Noble's Circulating Library'. The caption reads 'L'ectorem delectando panterque monendo. - Hor.'Source: Apollo and Athena invite a reader to enjoy John Noble's library of educational and entertaining books. Frontispiece illustration to 'A new catalogue of the large and valuable collection of books: (both English and French) in John Noble's circulating library. Consisting of several thousand volumes...which are lent to read,' circa 1761. Public domain image, Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Collections. Francis and John Noble were booksellers and publishers who ran a successful circulating library starting in the 1740s. Rochelle Raineri Zuck speculates that The Female American may have been the product of the "stable of writers" the Nobles employed "to produce new work at a rapid pace" for their libraries-something like the eighteenth-century equivalent of Internet content farms. See Zuck, "Who Wrote The Female American?" in English Literary History 89.3 (2022): 669. DOI:10.1353/elh.2022.0023.
American_ A European explorer holding an astrolabe, a staff, and a flag encounters a shocked woman in a hammock wearing only a feathered cap and skirt.Source: Theodore Galle, 'Allegory of America,' ca. 1600. Public Domain image, Metropolitan Museum of Art. This engraving by Netherlandish artist Theodoor Galle imitates Johannes Stradanus' original drawing of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. In this allegorical image, Vespucci is shown 'awakening' a woman who personifies America. The caption, 'Americen Americus retexit, semel vocauit inde semper excitam,' roughly translates to 'Americus rediscovers America, once awakened, always aroused,' further underscoring the sexualized and racialized ideology of conquest. Like many depictions from this period, it visualizes the so-called discovery of the Americas as an act of European male dominance over feminized, exoticized, and passive land and peoples.
rivulets_streams
variegated_varied
extraordinary_ Two-page spread featuring colorful illustrations of eight different fantastical creatures, each labeled with ornate gothic scriptSource: Helmingham Herbal and Bestiary (1500), Yale Center for British Art. Reused under Yale Library's Open Access Policy. The absurd nature of the fictious animal described in this passage implies a metaphorical meaning. The animal's only means of survival is deceiving its prey, pretending to sleep in order to capture it. Anna Brickhouse connects this description to Unca Eliza's own deception of the island's Indigenous people, claiming that "Unca Eliza is both transfixed and patently disturbed by the greed and violence of this strange colonial animal. A nightmarish embodiment of her own predicament." Brickhouse, "The Indian Slave Trade in Unca Eliza Winkfield's The Female American." The Yearbook of English Studies46 (2016): 115-126. DOI: 10.1353/yes.2016.0008.
asunder_split apart
rowled_God's divine plan
rowled_rolled
herbage_stems and leaves
though-a-woman_ Portrait of a woman dressed in a gown with her hair up, holding a staff.Source: Image from Thomas Heywood's 'The exemplary lives and memorable acts of nine the most worthy women of the world' (1640). Folger Shakespeare Library, CC-0 license. The phrase "though a woman" serves as a brief but significant acknowledgment of gendered restrictions on knowledge in eighteenth-century England. Although Unca Eliza is depicted as a strong and smart individual who challenges traditional gender roles, she establishes her credibility by referencing foundational male philosophers, indicating her awareness of cultural expectations regarding women's intellectual ability. Scholar Jill Conway asserts that "European women intellectuals were either declasse, or else they lived a contemplative life in a religious community." Unca Eliza's isolation on the island literalizes the social exile faced by intellectual women at the time. See Conway, "Perspectives on the History of Women's Education in the United States." History of Education Quarterly 14.1 (1974): 1–12. DOI: 10.2307/367602.
aristotle_ This moment reflects the complex changing attitudes towards the capabilities of women during the Enlightenment. Unca Eliza both establishes her womanhood as something inferior to male intellectuals and simultaneously places herself above classical scholars. While women at the time were becoming increasingly established in intellectual fields they were still seen as inferior to men. In Women and Enlightenment in Eighteenth Century Britain (Cambridge University Press, 2009), Karen O'Brien writes that, while the progress of women in eighteenth-century Britain cannot be likened to feminism as we know it, the Enlightenment "created a framework and a language for understanding the gendered structures of society without which nineteenth-century feminism would not have been possible" (2).
ignoble_ not honourable in character or purpose
conjecture_formation of an opinion on grounds insufficient to furnish proof; action of guessing or surmising
exalted_Raised to a high level of dignity or honor.
desolate_A man hanging grapes outside a hut with a goat and a bird nearby, set in a tropical island landscape. A pair of long-barreled guns lay beside a sleeping dog, and the ground is littered with harvested grape vines and watermelonSource: A print from Carington Bowles' (1724-1793), 'Twelve Illustrations of Robinson Crusoe,' shows Crusoe tending to grapes at his 'Summer Retreat,' accompanied by a quote from the novel: 'In this place also I had my grapes growing, which I principally depended on for my Winter Store of Raisins, and which I never fear to preserve very carefully.' Public domain image, Yale Center for British Art. This allusion to Robinson Crusoe(1719) establishes Daniel Defoe's castaway novel as inspiration for The Female American. Like Crusoe, Unca Eliza finds her time on the island to be especially prosperous, with the necessary provisions appearing as desired. These occurrences ultimately fuel the protagonists' unending faith and pursuit of divine providence. Though these tales are similar in content and fabrication, The Female Americanironically attempts to discredit its precursor due to its fictitious storyline. To learn more about the parallels between these two works, see Tremaine McDowell, "An American Robinson Crusoe" American Literature 1.3 (1929): 307-09.
obeisances_Gestures of respect, such as bowing.
high-priest_ Unca portrays herself as a woman with strong Anglican beliefs, yet momentarily forfeits her belief system on the island when she finds the idol. She begins manipulating the people around her through the influence of the idol, and internalizes the mindset of its power. She utilizes lies, treasures, costumes and deceit to reinforce her position as a god-like figure. Scarlet Brown explores this idea of manipulation, describing Unca's behavior as "an expert stage director," mannered with "theatrical efforts to persuade the Indians," and further describes the lengths Unca would go to fulfill her own facade. Bowen, "Via Media: Transatlantic Anglicanism in The Female American." The Eighteenth Century, 53.2 (2012): 189 - 207.
peremptory_Insisting on immediate attention or obedience, leaving no room for refusal.
natural-religion A portrait of a man with long grey hair, painted in black and white.Source: 'Portret van John Wilkins, bisschop van Chester Effigies Reverendi admodum viri, Johannis Wilkins, nuper Episcopi Cestriensis (titel op object), RP-P-1941-141' by Abraham Bloteling was sourced from the Rijks Museum under CCO 1.0. This verbiage is likely a reference to John Wilkins' Of The Principles And Duties Of Natural Religion, (1734). Wilkins (1614-1672) was an Anglican clergyman who proposed that the matter and form of living things is evidence of God's divine authority. In the context of The Female American, Unca Winkfield creates the idea of a Christian deity while simultaneously acknowledging her role in a theological myth of nature versus God's creation. The bottom of the portrait reads "Effigies Reverendi admodum viri, Johannis Wilkins, nuper Episcopi Cestriensis," which translates to "Portrait of the very Reverend John Wilkins, late Bishop of Chester" in English. Read more inOf the Principles and Duties of Natural Religion: Internet Archive.
arduous_hard to accomplish or achieve
abashed_uneasy, confused, embarrassed
desist_stop, delay, cease
obstinancy_stubbornness, inflexibility
deluded_deceived, beguiled, led away from truth
Deity_divine being, god
irresolute_unresolved, undecided
attended_would bring certain misfortune
wretch_person driven from their native country, exile.
recourse_turned to
obedience_There is tension in Unca Eliza'sbelief system as she plans to manipulate the Indigenous people utilizing their own deity - simultaneously condemning the Indigenous religious as idolatrous while participating within their belief system. In "Via Media": Transatlantic Anglicanism in "The Female American," Scarlet Bowen explores this manipulation, describing Unca as "an expert stage director," using "theatrical" effort (197). Bowen, Scarlet."‘Via Media': Transatlantic Anglicanism in ‘The Female American.'"The Eighteenth Century, 53.2, 2012, pp. 189–207. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41468177. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025.
oracle_instrument or medium through which the gods were supposed to speak or prophesy.
therein_ in that place
bestow_give as a gift, or present
will_intention, command, order
grievous_severe
whence_from a place
hinder_deter, prevent, impede
hither_here
dumb_intentionally silent
drest_dressed
conduct_escort, guide
expedient_plan to attain a certain end
procure-obtain_obtain, acquire
ensuing_approaching
drest_dressed
vestments_garments worn by a priest or ecclesiastic on the occasion of some service or ceremony; priestly robes
cassock_a cloak or long coat worn by some soldiers or horse riders in 16/17th centuries
repository_a place in which something (physical) accumulates
procure_cause or bring about
undertaking_a pledge or promise
countenance_the look or expression of a person's face
prostrated_threw oneself on the ground to show devotion
affability_friendliness, readiness to talk
hither_here
reverence_Respect
provisions_Food and drink
repast_refreshment
expounds_interprets, comments on, or communicates to others
multitude_large group of people
providence_direction, guidance, or provision from God
prostrated_threw oneself on the ground to show devotion
address_speech given in front of people
serve_ Unca Eliza's narration emphasizes the privilege her colonial hybridity allows her on the island. Julia Kark Callander suggests that Unca Eliza becomes a "native royal... at once representative of a community and set apart from it (i.e., better than its other members)." Unca Eliza's cultural, ethnic, and national hybridity mesh into a colonial hybridity that is both novel and contradictive--a paradox that Callander notes is "quite American." "'Attended by a Whole Nation': The Americas in The Female American." 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era18 (2011): 129-149. Print.
discharge_carry out a task
apostle_ person who introduces Christianity in a region
taken-upon-me_ In calling herself an apostle, or a disciple of Christ, Unca Eliza demonstrates a key difference between The Female American(1767) and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe(1719). While Robinson Crusoe finds his religion after he is stranded on the island, Unca Eliza has always been well versed in Christianity and has "unwavering confidence in religious knowledge." Jonahs Kneitly, "The Female Americanand Its Liminal Spaces." Studies in Religion and the Enlightenment3.1 2023) 28-40, DOI:10.32655/srej.2023.3.1.3 2023
apprehension_the act of learning
catechism_a book containing the basics of Christianity, meant to be taught in question-and-answer format
translation_ Unca Eliza has a seemingly flawless ability to understand any Indigenous language that she encounters. This representation neglects the expansive linguistic diversity of Indigenous communities and, according to Katherine Whitcomb, "reduces the cultures of different people to such a simplistic view that the reader cannot differentiate one culture from the next." "Unca Eliza as Hybrid Colonizer," in The Student Theorist: An Open Handbook of Collective College Theory, Public Commons Publishing, 2018: 80.
conceived_formed an opinion
Trifling_unimportant, minimal
prayer-book_ A teacher at a raised desk offers a gift to a standing student, with other students sitting on benches reading and listeningSource: A sixteenth-century title page and verso woodcut from 'A Catechism or Institution of Christian Religion,' Folger Shakespeare Library The Female American, like its contemporaryRobinson Crusoe(1719), reflects the historical reality of Christian efforts that imposed European literacy and religious practices on Indigenous populations. Unca Eliza's translation of the Bible and the Common Prayer Book echoes these real-world initiatives, which Catherine A. Breckus and W. Clark Gilpin argue functioned as tools of colonial control, reshaping Indigenous societies to fit European frameworks. See American Christianities: A History of Dominance and Diversity (University of North Carolina Press, 2011). While the novel critiques the violence often associated with missionary work, it still promotes a "myth of non-colonial conversion," as Edward Simon highlights. Christianity is portrayed as a natural extension of human reason, and any rational individual would willingly convert upon encountering it which therefore obscures the coercion that often underpinned such conversions. See Simon, "Unca Eliza Winkfield and the Fantasy of Non-Colonial Conversion in The Female American." Women's Studies, 45.7 (2016): 649–59.
idolatry_practice of worshipping idols, especially in the derogatory sense of worshiping a false god
baptize_ Engraving of Robinson Crusoe holding two muskets and a sword.Source: Frontispiece illustration and title page for the 1719 publication of The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York. Public domain image, British Library.
deistical_of the nature of or pertaining to deists or deism.
deism_ A man lying on his side in a forest.In the background, another man plays a lyre around armored horses.Source: A painting of Lord Edward Herbert by Isaac Oliver, ca. 1613-1614, via Wikimedia Commons..The writers that Unca Eliza remembers from her uncle's study likely include Deists like Lord Edward Herbert(1583 - 1648, pictured), Charles Blount (1562 - 1606), Anthony Collins (1676-1729), and Matthew Tindal (1657-1733), who believed that God created the universe and then allowed it to operate under natural law ( Oxford English Dictionary). Unca Eliza's familiarity with these writers demonstrates to readers that, like the Deists, she believes that--as Darren Staloff puts it--"religious truth should be subject to the authority of human reason rather than divine revelation.” See Staloff, "Deism and the Founding of the United States" (2008).
fastened_fortified, secured
oracular_resembling divine authority or ancient oracles
slave_ White colonizers wearing large hats, vests, and trousers surround by enslaved Indigenous people depicted wearing loinclothsSource: 'Captive Indians Sold Into Slavery,' ca. 1890. Public domain image from the New York Public Library The Female Americanwas written and published around the peak of the "Indian Slave Trade." At this time, Europeans had the Indigenous peoples captured sometimes by their own people. They were then sold off to be tortured or harmed by those colonizing them. She fears the Europeans could capture the island Natives and treat them like they did with her ancestors. More on the enslavement of Indigenous peoples referenced inThe Female Americancan be found in Anna Brickhouse's "The Indian Slave Trade in Unca Eliza Winkfield'sThe Female American. "The Yearbook of English Studies46 (2016): 115-26. DOI: 10.5699/yearenglstud.46.2016.0115.
deign_ think worthy of oneself
pious_showing reverence or obedience to God
subterraneous_underground
drest_dressed
insular_pertaining to or located on an island
surprize_surprise
melodious_characterized by melody; having a sweet or pleasant sound; tuneful
credulous_Too willing to believe, especially on weak or insufficient grounds
portend_fortell by supernatural means
gallantry_polite display of attention
subsisted_survived
musick_music
tawny_tan
wrapt_covered
apace_quickly, promptly
cronies_intimate friends or associates
mutineer_someone who revolts against or openly resists authority
chearfully_cheerfully
regard_Unca's assertion that the Indigenous people don't question the authority ofEuropeans aligns with eighteenth century imperialist ideologies, which frame Indigenous people as submissive to conversion efforts. In "Christian Mission,"Michael Sievernich discusses the state-supported Christian missions in the eighteenth century which destroyed Indigenous traditions and reinforced colonial dominance under the diguise of religious salvation. "Christian Mission."European History Online, Institute of European History, 19 May 2011, www.ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-and-the-world/mission.
befallen_happened
providences_ which was provided, provisions
fulfil_fulfill, make complete
plain_simple; straightforward
holy-orders_the status of an ordained minister of the Christian church
pious-religion_faithful to religious duties and observances
leave_ask permission to do something
hand_pledge of marriage
mortification_embarassment, humiliation
affability_friendliness, readiness to talk
shewing_showing
sup_eat supper
repast_food, meal
professed_declared; already affirmed
chagrined_troubled, vexed, worried, grieved
conspicuous_visible, apparent
streamer_a flag streaming or waving in the air
conversion_change ones faith
ordinances_prescribed practices
importunity_pressing persistence
two-months_Unca Eliza's marriage to her cousin is not done out of love for him
catechising_teaching the elements of religion
my-husband_ a well dressed couple seated in an ornate roomSource: William Hogarth's painting 'Marriage Settlement' (c.1743) portrays an arranged marriage between wealthy families. The scene displayes the tie between family expectations and marriage during the eighteenth century. Public domain image from the Metropolition Museum of Art Unca Eliza refers to Mr. Winkfield as her cousin until they are married, after she refers to him as her husband. Marriage among family members was socially acceptable throughout the eighteenth century. Commonly, the upper class chose familial marriages to maintain wealth and respected social status. Susan Mckinnon, "Cousin Marriage, Hierarchy, and Heredity: Contestations over Domestic and National Body Politics in 19th-century America." Journal of the British Academy7 (2019): 61-88. DOI:10.5871/jba/007.061
sea-faring_a person who made their living by traveling the sea
acquaint_make someone aware of
befallen_happened
unmolested_undisturbed, untroubled
discourse_discussion of conversation
readily_willingly
yard-arm_either of two outer extremity ends of a ship's yard
wainscot_panel-work of oak or other wood, used to line the walls of an apartment.
prolix_given to or characterized by tedious lengthiness in speech or writing
reproving_rebuking or reprimanding
smote_Hit me with godly punishment (smite in past tense)
befalls_comes upon
unanimity_unanimous
execution-dock_ Black-and-white engraving illustrating a public executionSource: Engraving, ca. 1795. Royal Museum Greenwich, CC-BY-NC-ND license A pirate, thought to be Captain James Lowry, is awaiting execution by hanging at Execution-Dock, a gallows in London by the Thames River. Digital image made available by the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
tempted_ Three men with bows and quivers stand around men kneeling with expressions of horror as they watch a large horned figure burnSource: Johann Baptist Zwecker, 'Robinson Crusoe destroying an Idol of the Tartars' (1872). Public Domain image from New York Public Library Digital Collections. In this 19th-century illustration, Robinson Crusoe destroys Cham Chi-Thaungu, referred to in the engraving's original caption as the 'idol' of the 'Tartars' --a historically inaccurate label often used in European literature to describe various Central and East Asian peoples. The destruction of the idol possibly suggests Unca Eliza's 'confirmation of Christian conversion' (41) of the Indigenous peoples, in the removal of what she believes to be an idolatrous figure. Yet, Roslyn Irving reads this moment as symbolic of Unca Eliza' integration with the Indigenous people in America, where 'removing the statue is perhaps symbolic of a conversion narrative never fully realised.' 'Reading for Friday inthe Female American(1767),' Nordic Journal of English Studies,23 (2024): 41. DOI: 10.35360/njes.2024.23287.
rake_a vain, immoral and/or promiscuous man

Footnotes

auth2_ [Note in original] Our authoress here seems to please herself, with the thoughts of the immortality of her history, and to prophesy of that of Robinson Crusoe, which only is inferior to her own, as fiction is to truth.
auth1_ [Note in original] By this description, and the use to which she applied her invention, it seems to have been of the same kind with that we now call Æolus's harp.