Maria Graham: A Literary Biography By Regina Akel

Chapter 1:

The Early Years

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[I]t seemed to me that the good opinion entertained of me by the Edinburgh philosophers and literary people, had extended itself to the South; and had there not been a few young ladies who twitted me with pedantry, affectation and philosophy, by which they meant want of feeling, I might possibly have made great progress in self-esteem. (Ibid.)

While subtly pointing out the injury caused by the attitude of her aunt and her young female relations, these confessions explain some of the less likeable aspects of Maria Graham’s literary persona: the judgemental attitude in her texts, the tone of superiority and detachment, and perhaps even the hostility towards other women. These traits may very well have resulted from a rebellious response to other people’s vocalised negative expectations concerning her future. If Lacan’s dictum is accurate, and people are constructed in language, these women’s criticism of Maria may be the origin of the persona we discern in her work.

There is also the possibility that Maria’s attitude of distant superiority towards her relatives during her last stay in Richmond was an attempt to compensate for the lack of affection she naturally craved, and that this attitude became part of her ethos as a writer later in life. This interpretation appears to be confirmed by the last vindication, and really the last statement she made into her autobiography:

[A]fter all, to feel that one is not loved by those to whom one naturally looks for affection, and to meet with envy where one would gladly seek sympathy, is more galling to a young and affectionate spirit than any words of mine can express. (91)

The year and a half between June 1807 and December 1808 when Maria sailed with her father to India are not recorded in journals or letters. It is safe to presume that she continued her unhappy life at Richmond, but now with the expectation of a long voyage of discovery.