In 1889 Besant was converted to Theosophy i.e the supreme wisdom religion that would supersede Christianity. Within a very short time, she was visiting Melbourne “for the purpose of lecturing on Theosophy. Mrs Besant's daughter is married to a Melbourne pressman .. and was a spokeswoman of an adult-suffrage deputation to the Victorian Premier” (Bulletin, Sep 1894). Then Mrs Besant continued her lecturing tour in Sydney.
Annie Besant introduced a strong socialist element to Theosophy, because she was very well known in the Fabian Society. Her second important tour of Australia was in 1908.
In 1911 Besant was a keynote speaker at an important NUWSS suffragist rally in London. Soon after becoming a member of the Theosophical Society, Besant went to India for the first time. Thereafter she devoted her energy to the Theosophical Society, to India's freedom and to women’s progress, in India and back at home. She started the Home Rule League in India for obtaining the freedom of the country and reviving the country's cultural heritage, attended the 1914 session of the Indian National Congress and was elected its president in 1917. Despite being interned by the British authorities during WW1, Besant continued to write letters to British newspapers, arguing the case for women's suffrage.
The real surprise to me was not Besant’s energy and various passions. Rather I want to know why intellectual, educated women artists in Australia would flock to Theosophy. Jane Price became a founding member of the Melbourne Branch of the Theosophical Society, and spent long hours discussing theosophy and Besantian writings. May Vale in particular wanted to use Besant Hall as a venue for exhibitions. Walter Burley Griffin, the (male) American architect and city planner who designed Australia’s capital city, Canberra, was apparently another follower of Theosophy. Ethel Carrick Fox eventually joined the Theosophical Society in Sydney.
Artist’s Footsteps concluded “The role of Theosophy in Australian art has yet to be fully examined. However, given the number of artists who took an interest in theosophy, especially in the early years of the C20th, it is likely that theosophy was a factor in the production of a number of their artworks”. Jill Roe in Beyond Belief: Theosophy in Australia suggested that Theosophy’s popularity was due to middle class Church of England women’s disappointment with their church’s lack of vision for women outside home, family and charity.
With its emphasis on the power of love, on service and on a duty to protect the weak, Theosophy prefigured many of the values of modern feminism. I would suggest that Annie Besant’s personal appeal to intellectual women was no less compelling. Certainly the Theosophical Society has become a major focus of interest by cultural historians.
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9 comments:
I have chosen to write about Annie Besant for an essay, so I love this post. What happened to her eventually?
Twohander
what a great woman to write about.
With age, Besant became less philosophical and more political. As editor of the New India newspaper at the beginning of WW1, she attacked the colonial government of India and called for clear and decisive moves towards self-rule. She even founded the Home Rule League for a more nationalist and vigorous India. In June 1917 Besant was arrested and gaoled.
The government announced it was moving Indian self-government, and Besant was freed within 3 months. In fact she soon took over as President of the Indian National Congress for a year.
This was not a lady to move into a genteel old age home. Besant continued to work for India, doing public speaking and writing to politicians in India and in Britain. She died in India in 1933 at a very decent age (86).
Ellen
I am very pleased you valued the post on Annie Besant. Are you familiar with her writings?
Hello, Interested in your blog on Annie Besant I just found on the web and I would love to see your writing ion her in full if there is more than what is on the website.
My mother’s mother knew Annie Besant and talked about taking her from the Theosophical Society in Melbourne to their sheep station property outside Warrnambool in a horse drawn carriage back in the early 1900’s. My grandmother was an author and a member of the Theosophical Society. It is an interesting story of feisty women for that time!
Thank you!
Berry
Berry
very feisty, talented women yes!
I published this post 10 years ago, based on lecture notes from the 1990s. I am delighted people still read the old posts because my memory is not as good as it used to be *sigh*.
Berry
you might like to read "Australian Lectures" by Annie Besant 1908.
These lectures were delivered in Australia by Besant, President-Founder of the Theosophical Society. See Theosophy and Christianity; Do We Live on Earth Again?; Life after Death; The Power of Thought; The Guardians of Humanity; and Nature's Finer Forces.
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