Did Helen Keller Practice Agency?

We’ve all heard of the infamous blind and deaf woman, Helen Keller, throughout our time in elementary school. But we are now observing her achievements through a more intricate lens. I’ve recently discovered through George’s text that Keller was indeed an active rhetorical theorist, despite her gender and medical setbacks. We’ve already explored the feminist role of rhetoric through theorists such as Campbell and Heilbrun earlier in the semester. While they essentially question the role of women as agents in society, I think George’s text, “Mr. Burke, Meet Helen Keller” and also Butler’s text, “Gender Trouble,” bring this argument even further into perspective. They both continue to question both agency and power of women writers in society.

Keller displayed her intelligence through writing at a time when males were highly dominant in society. Although her rhetorical beliefs were similar to Burke, she was unable to communicate in a way that was completely in line with her audience due to the fact that she was disabled. Or at least, this is what the public had assumed. Burke, on the other hand, naturally garnered more recognition for his rhetorical work. The public believed that Keller could not necessarily experience life the way they do. The question, then, is if they viewed Keller this way because she was a female, disabled, or both. George points to the idea that Keller’s feminine identity deterred her from being representable. Gender is based on a classification system that constitutes the differences between male and females, placing emphasis on the dominance of one gender over another. George uses the quote, “ I have heard men say, “How can one deaf and blind from infancy know about life, about people, about affairs? It is impossible for her to have a first-hand knowledge of what is going on in the world?” (George 345) Notice here that a “man” was noted to have said this. So was he questioning Keller’s gender, or her disability?

This brings us to Butler’s discussion on gender. She states, “Within a language pervasively masculinist, a phallogocentric language, women constitute the unrepresentable.” (Butler 13) Butler questions how females are viewed, and basically states that what doesn’t make her a man is what gives her the title as a woman. So, while it can be argued that Helen Keller was a rhetorical theorist, she was “unrepresentable.” The statement by Butler solidifies the argument that women, despite their actions and written theories that may be very similar to that of a man, were unable to make a mark in society because of their gender. I can’t help but notice a strong connection to that of Heilbrun’s argument for female writers. In reference to writing, she states, “What is being depicted is not actual independence, but action despite dependence.” (Heilbrun17) Similar to Butler, she argues that women are incapable of being independent writing figures and serving a purpose that’s unique to their gender. “Power is the ability to take one’s place in whatever discourse is essential to action and the right to have one’s part matter.” (Heilbrun 18) Helen Keller may be a historical figure now, but her writing did not matter in relation to Burke at the time, being that he was considered a dominant male. We even have overlooked her work when learning about her battles through her handicapped conditions. We were all well aware of this growing up, but what we didn’t learn about was her rhetorical work and intelligent theories that parallel so much with those of Burke.

So, with all of these texts put into perspective, this brings me back to my original question. Was Helen Keller an agent, even if she was considered “unrepresentable?” For me, the answer is yes. Campbell, who studies the role of agency in women, would most likely agree as well. Keller ultimately took action and wrote her theories, despite the fact that she did not necessarily hold power at the time. The role of agency is one that’s difficult to comprehend, but there’s no denying that Keller has made a profound mark on history that is now explored by every audience. Shouldn’t then, that make her a powerful agent? It’s a debatable question, considering it’s her setbacks that we all know of, rather than her intelligent rhetorical strategies.

-Vanessa Coppola