Similarities Between Mina Loy And F. T. Marinetti
As Futurist writers, both Mina Loy and F.T. Marinetti valorize machinery as a crucial element of their writing, as well as the world at large. Both agree that process of actualizing oneself requires the intervention of technology. Although undoubtedly different from one another, both writers seem to suggest that machinery will lead to a type of immortality, whether literally or theoretically. In their writing, technology acts as an active facilitator in the process of achieving eternal life. In the opening of his Technical Manifesto of Futurist Literature, Marinetti is “Sitting astride the fuel tank of an airplane...” and the “swirling propeller” speaks to him as he flies “two hundred meters above the powerful smokestacks of Milan” (15). For Marinetti, technological advancements allow humans to perceive the world as no one has ever seen it before, as is the case
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with the airplane. There is no desire to pause or slow down, for anything not moving fast does not fully capture the total experience of modernity. Here, flying literally and figuratively gives access to a new vantage point, setting the stage perfectly for his final realization: the manifesto. In article eleven, he argues for the destruction of the “lyric ‘I’” (Marinetti, 17). He writes, “We must abolish him in literature and replace him once and for all with matter...To substitute, for human psychology, now exhausted, the lyrical obsession with matter.” For “...the movements of matter are beyond the laws of human intelligence, and hence of an essence which is more significant” (Marinetti, 18). Because the physical world and the laws of matter exists outside of human consciousness, literature, in the eyes of a Futurist, must strive to preserve the beauty that is matter in its most natural state. He writes, “Only the asyntactical poet with words set free will be able to penetrate the essence of matter and destroy the mute hostility that separates it from us” (Marinetti,18). The notion that humans are in fact matter underscores a majority of his writing. The genuine poet, he argues, will employ nouns as they exist as nouns alone. By tapping into the true nature of the thing, the dichotomy between “I” and matter dissolves. After all, human beings, like all matter, are simply atoms in constant motion, and therefore a cog in the universal machine. Through this deification of matter, Marinetti denounces some of the essential foundations of the Western worldview, most significantly, Platonic and Christian dualism. This break down implies that eternal life is no longer accessible through some otherworldly realm. In Marinetti’s new “religion,” the physical world becomes the locus of greater truths. Expanding on ideas of technology, Marinetti ends the piece with a powerful ode to the “mechanical man with interchangeable parts” (Marinetti, 19). In the final sentence, he writes, “We will liberate man from the idea of death, and hence from death itself, the supreme definition of the logical mind” (Marinetti, 19). Once the ultimate affinity with matter is obtained (i.e. the abandonment of dualism) will the human race simply become robots? Or does this transformation take place strictly within the confines of poetry? As Marinetti suggests, to be removed form an idea alone is equivalent from being removed form the actual thing itself. Can the mortal man then will himself to become pure lifeless matter in a way that is different than death? With regards to the specifics, Marinetti remains vague, but the end goal is clear: immortality in a mechanical world. Despite her strong feminist ideology and poetic style, Mina Loy shares similar beliefs on machinery as her male contemporary. In her Feminist Manifesto, Loy boldly argues for the “unconditional surgical destruction of virginity throughout the female population at puberty–“ (Loy, “Manifesto,” 92). By this, Loy suggests a necessary surgical procedure to rid pubescent girls of their hymen. As expressed in her poem “Virgins Plus Curtains Minus Dots,” virginity is simply what women have to offer in the marriage contract. She writes, “Nobody shouts/ Virgins for sale/ Yet where are our soft coins/ For buying a purchaser/ Love is a god/ Marriage expensive/ A secret well kept (Loy, “Virgins,” lines). Here, Loy is calling attention to the false consciousness of marriage as an economic transaction. While it is not explicitly recognized, women are ineluctably prostituting themselves for the sake of a husband. In her Feminist Manifesto, Loy warns women, “As conditions are at present constituted – you have the choice between Parasitism, & Prostitution – or Negation” (Loy, “Manifesto,” 92). If a woman is not a mistress, than she must be a mother, otherwise she is not considered a woman. Like Marinetti, Loy too finds immortality in a way that is made possible through the mechanistic destruction of virginity.
In her poem “Parturition,” motherhood becomes a means to obtain everlasting life. The persona reflects, “I should have been emptied of life/ Giving life...” (Loy, “Parturition,” lines). In this instance, the act of childbirth seems to defy logic: one life can become two. She continues, “Stir of incipient life/ Precipitating into me/ The contents of the universe/ Mother I am/ Identical/ With infinite Maternity/ Indivisible/ Acutely/ I am absorbed/ Into/ The was-is-ever-shall-be/ Of cosmic reproductivity” (Loy, “Parturition,” lines). The mother becomes God-like through her power of boundless creation –maternity allowing her to expand into the timeless cosmos. This idea that childbearing provides immortality is reminiscent Shakespeare’s early sonnets. For him, rearing a child was not only a responsibility (for a man), but also the key to unlocking eternal life. Loy takes this concept one step further. The mother becomes undying not simply through her child, but in and of
herself. In the face ontological issues, Loy returns to the machine as a means of regaining the female identity. To destroy virginity would provide women a new sense of agency, as someone who is no longer categorized or valued based on her sexual choices. Her goal to destroy virginity harkens back to Marinetti’s wish to escape death. In both cases, the machine is being used to defy cultural concepts. In the eyes of these Futurists, Virginity and Death are abstract ideas; their authority is gained simply because people have decided to value them. In recognizing and questioning the power virginity has over society, Loy chooses to treat it as something tangible. Instead of virginity marking the state of never having had sexual intercourse, Loy defines it solely based on the absence of the hymen. By moving virginity from the theoretical to the physical, she is able to obliterate the influence it previously possessed.
with the airplane. There is no desire to pause or slow down, for anything not moving fast does not fully capture the total experience of modernity. Here, flying literally and figuratively gives access to a new vantage point, setting the stage perfectly for his final realization: the manifesto. In article eleven, he argues for the destruction of the “lyric ‘I’” (Marinetti, 17). He writes, “We must abolish him in literature and replace him once and for all with matter...To substitute, for human psychology, now exhausted, the lyrical obsession with matter.” For “...the movements of matter are beyond the laws of human intelligence, and hence of an essence which is more significant” (Marinetti, 18). Because the physical world and the laws of matter exists outside of human consciousness, literature, in the eyes of a Futurist, must strive to preserve the beauty that is matter in its most natural state. He writes, “Only the asyntactical poet with words set free will be able to penetrate the essence of matter and destroy the mute hostility that separates it from us” (Marinetti,18). The notion that humans are in fact matter underscores a majority of his writing. The genuine poet, he argues, will employ nouns as they exist as nouns alone. By tapping into the true nature of the thing, the dichotomy between “I” and matter dissolves. After all, human beings, like all matter, are simply atoms in constant motion, and therefore a cog in the universal machine. Through this deification of matter, Marinetti denounces some of the essential foundations of the Western worldview, most significantly, Platonic and Christian dualism. This break down implies that eternal life is no longer accessible through some otherworldly realm. In Marinetti’s new “religion,” the physical world becomes the locus of greater truths. Expanding on ideas of technology, Marinetti ends the piece with a powerful ode to the “mechanical man with interchangeable parts” (Marinetti, 19). In the final sentence, he writes, “We will liberate man from the idea of death, and hence from death itself, the supreme definition of the logical mind” (Marinetti, 19). Once the ultimate affinity with matter is obtained (i.e. the abandonment of dualism) will the human race simply become robots? Or does this transformation take place strictly within the confines of poetry? As Marinetti suggests, to be removed form an idea alone is equivalent from being removed form the actual thing itself. Can the mortal man then will himself to become pure lifeless matter in a way that is different than death? With regards to the specifics, Marinetti remains vague, but the end goal is clear: immortality in a mechanical world. Despite her strong feminist ideology and poetic style, Mina Loy shares similar beliefs on machinery as her male contemporary. In her Feminist Manifesto, Loy boldly argues for the “unconditional surgical destruction of virginity throughout the female population at puberty–“ (Loy, “Manifesto,” 92). By this, Loy suggests a necessary surgical procedure to rid pubescent girls of their hymen. As expressed in her poem “Virgins Plus Curtains Minus Dots,” virginity is simply what women have to offer in the marriage contract. She writes, “Nobody shouts/ Virgins for sale/ Yet where are our soft coins/ For buying a purchaser/ Love is a god/ Marriage expensive/ A secret well kept (Loy, “Virgins,” lines). Here, Loy is calling attention to the false consciousness of marriage as an economic transaction. While it is not explicitly recognized, women are ineluctably prostituting themselves for the sake of a husband. In her Feminist Manifesto, Loy warns women, “As conditions are at present constituted – you have the choice between Parasitism, & Prostitution – or Negation” (Loy, “Manifesto,” 92). If a woman is not a mistress, than she must be a mother, otherwise she is not considered a woman. Like Marinetti, Loy too finds immortality in a way that is made possible through the mechanistic destruction of virginity.
In her poem “Parturition,” motherhood becomes a means to obtain everlasting life. The persona reflects, “I should have been emptied of life/ Giving life...” (Loy, “Parturition,” lines). In this instance, the act of childbirth seems to defy logic: one life can become two. She continues, “Stir of incipient life/ Precipitating into me/ The contents of the universe/ Mother I am/ Identical/ With infinite Maternity/ Indivisible/ Acutely/ I am absorbed/ Into/ The was-is-ever-shall-be/ Of cosmic reproductivity” (Loy, “Parturition,” lines). The mother becomes God-like through her power of boundless creation –maternity allowing her to expand into the timeless cosmos. This idea that childbearing provides immortality is reminiscent Shakespeare’s early sonnets. For him, rearing a child was not only a responsibility (for a man), but also the key to unlocking eternal life. Loy takes this concept one step further. The mother becomes undying not simply through her child, but in and of
herself. In the face ontological issues, Loy returns to the machine as a means of regaining the female identity. To destroy virginity would provide women a new sense of agency, as someone who is no longer categorized or valued based on her sexual choices. Her goal to destroy virginity harkens back to Marinetti’s wish to escape death. In both cases, the machine is being used to defy cultural concepts. In the eyes of these Futurists, Virginity and Death are abstract ideas; their authority is gained simply because people have decided to value them. In recognizing and questioning the power virginity has over society, Loy chooses to treat it as something tangible. Instead of virginity marking the state of never having had sexual intercourse, Loy defines it solely based on the absence of the hymen. By moving virginity from the theoretical to the physical, she is able to obliterate the influence it previously possessed.