Women In The Theosophical Movement

James Santucci

[Originally published in
Explorations: Journal for Adventurous Thought,
vol. 9, no. 1, (Fall, 1990)]

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INTRODUCTION

It goes without saying that Mary Farrell Bednarowski, in her article,
"Outside the Mainstream: Women's Religion and Women Religious Leaders
in Nineteenth-Century America,"[1] deserves credit for drawing
scholars' attention to the high status of women in nineteenth century
non-mainstream religious movements. Four of those are the subject of
her research: Shakerism, Spiritualism, Christian Science, and
Theosophy. In her attempt to answer the question of why women were and
are more successful in such groups, four possibilities were suggested:

1. a reinterpretation of the Christian theological positions by
de-emphasizing the Divine Being's masculine traits and gender and
2. by de-emphasizing or denying the Doctrine of the Fall;
3. a rejection of the role of an ordained clergy;
4. an expansion of the role of women in society beyond marriage
and motherhood.

There is a problem, however, in ascertaining just what the proper role
these characteristics play in the movements in question. Do they
explain both the cause and effect of the status of women or just the
effect? If only the effect, then what is the cause? The author is
correct in seeing this as a "chicken-and-egg" problem, but what is
apparently evident regarding the Theosophical Movement is the fact that
there is no overwhelming evidence that the position of women was
somehow defined by the first three characteristics given by Dr.
Bednarowski.

The fourth characteristic--women's expanding roles in society--is
another story however: their expanded roles in the United States began
to evolve and develop many decades prior to these religious
movements.[2] Consequently, such a development will help to explain the
activism of one prominent woman theosophical leader at the inception of
the twentieth century. In general, however, these four are not
particularly well-suited in explaining the role of women in Theosophy
due to its international flavor; the position of women therefore
requires further inquiry and clarification.

A number of questions arise when comparing 'Theosophy' with Dr.
Bednarowski's thesis. First, what does she mean by Theosophy? Second,
if she is concerned with American women leaders, why does she mention
two women who are not products of American culture: a Russian-born,
albeit naturalized American citizen in her later years (Helena Petrovna
Blavatsky) and a British-born woman who spent most of her later years
in India (Annie Besant)? Thirdly, just what are the historical facts
concerning the role of women leaders in the Theosophical Movement?

Regarding the first question, the term Theosophy is often used in a
rather nebulous manner. Many commentators, including Dr. Bednarowski,
connote the term with a specific organization: the Theosophical
Society, headquartered in Adyar, India. This is all well and good, but
it fails to take into account the many dimensions of the Theosophical
Movement. As I understand the term, Theosophical Movement carries with
it two connotations: those theosophical societies that view Helena
Blavatsky as the main inspiration and genetrix of 'modern' Theosophy as
defined and formulated in her enormous literary output, especially
those books that stand out as masterpieces of occult lore, ISIS
UNVEILED and THE SECRET DOCTRINE[3]; secondly, what may be termed
Pre-Blavatskian Theosophy or Pre-Modern Theosophy.

Modern Theosophy not only includes the Theosophical Society, the parent
society founded in New York in the year 1875 (the international
headquarters established at Adyar in 1882) by Blavatsky, Henry Steel
Olcott, William Q. Judge, and others; it also includes other
organizations that ultimately derive from this Society. In 1895,
William Q. Judge, the vice-president of the Adyar Society, withdrew his
American Section from the Society and established the Theosophical
Society in America. After Judge's death in 1896, Katherine Tingley
assumed leadership that same year and renamed the Society the Universal
Brotherhood and Theosophical Society. Shortly thereafter, in 1898, a
break away group from the Syracuse (N.Y.) Lodge of Judge's, now
Tingley's, Society under the leadership of William H. Dower and Mrs.
Francia A. LaDue formed the Temple of the People, which is now located
in Halcyon, not far from Pismo Beach, California.[4]

Two other groups developed from Mrs. Tingley's Society in that same
year: the Theosophical Society founded by Ernest T. Hargrove, the
former President of the Theosophical Society in America who disputed
Mrs. Tingley's claim to leadership, and the Theosophical Society
(Independent, New York), founded by Dr. J.H. Salisbury and Donald
Nicholson.[5] In 1909, still another group established in Los Angeles
as a reaction to Mrs. Tingley's version of Theosophy was founded by a
former member of her Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society,
Robert Crosbie.[6] At present, The United Lodge, the Theosophical
Society (Adyar), and the Theosophical Society (Pasadena) [formerly, The
Theosophical Society in America and later the Universal Brotherhood and
Theosophical Society] are the three main organizations that follow and
disseminate Blavatsky's teachings.[7]

In many of the major articles and books by H.P. Blavatsky, we find
innumerable references to a Theosophy that existed prior to her own
version of the teaching. This Pre-Modern Theosophy is described by her
as the "wisdom of the Ages" taught, preserved and transmitted by such
initiates in the ancient world as the Buddha, Jesus, Pythagoras,
Patañjali, Plato, Porphyry and Proclus, sustained centuries later by
such late Renaissance and early modern philosophers as Giordano Bruno,
Jacob Boehme, Paracelsus, Agrippa, abiding in such diverse schools of
philosophy as the Greek Mystery Schools, the Vedânta, Neo-Platonism,
Taoism, and Cabalism, and embedded in the sacred writings of the great
historical religions of the world.[8] Blavatsky's own theosophical
ancestry, she claimed, was derived from these sources and disclosed to
the modern world with the help of two spiritually advanced 'Masters' or
'Mahatmas' who made her their special disciple or 'chela'.

To answer the first question, 'Theosophy' or 'Theosophical Movement'
will carry the restricted connotation that Dr. Bednarowski gives it,
except that I will include not only the Theosophical Society (Adyar)
but also the Theosophical Society (Pasadena). Since the United Lodge of
Theosophists follows a policy of complete anonymity for both its
members and leaders, there is insufficient information concerning its
organization.

Turning now to the second question, that of including women who were
neither raised in nor representative of American culture, Dr.
Bednarowski ignored the fact that although the Theosophical Society was
founded on American soil, it soon became international in scope. Aside
from its founding President, Henry Steel Olcott, none of its subsequent
leaders were American. This was not the case of the Theosophical
Society (Pasadena). Because it is descended from the American Section
of the Adyar T.S., its membership is more American and its leadership
has been and remains exclusively American. Mindful of the fact that any
discussion on Modern Theosophy cannot ignore the largest Theosophical
Society, the Adyar T.S., this article therefore cannot limit its
discussion solely to American women leaders but rather those leaders,
American or not, who helped define a modern Movement that has had
considerable impact on the religious life of the United States and
abroad: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Annie Besant, and Katherine Tingley.

Lastly, the third question that was raised, the historical
circumstances surrounding the role of women leaders in the Theosophical
Movement, will be discussed in the remainder of this essay: first, by
reviewing the origins of the Theosophical Society and its objects prior
to the schism in 1895; second, by reviewing the role and contributions
of the three leaders of both Societies.

THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

The impetus surrounding the Theosophical Society's formation serves as
a telling comment on the reason for its origin. On the evening of
September 8, 1875, a Civil War veteran and mechanical and civil
engineer[9] by the name of George Henry Felt delivered a lecture on
"The Lost Canon of Proportion of the Egyptians." According to accounts
of the lecture from those present as well as a Prospectus of the
manuscript on which the lecture was based, he claimed to have
"discovered the true geometrical system of the Egyptians, the long-lost
and eagerly sought for key wherewith Egypt unlocked the mysteries of
Nature and Art." [10] Somehow connected to the geometrical system of
the Egyptians was the accompanying discovery of elemental or original
spirits that could be conjured and even controlled by the Egyptian
initiate priests.[11]

These claims, especially the theurgic claim of Felt's, induced Olcott
[12] to suggest the establishment of a society devoted to the "study
and elucidation" [13] of occultism, the Kaballa (Cabala), and related
topics. The by-laws that were composed shortly thereafter [l4] reflect
this interest in its statement on the objects of the newly formed
Theosophical Society: "to collect and diffuse a knowledge of the laws
which govern the universe." These events suggest two conclusions:

1. Olcott appears to have been more interested in the subordinate
issue of the theurgic claims of Felt rather than his more
substantial philosophical and mathematical presentation of the
"Law of Proportions";
2. the society was founded on the premise that it be an
investigative society, not a religious body.

The first observation is important because it suggests one of the two
overriding approaches to the 'hidden laws of nature', the occult, that
drew individuals into the Theosophical Movement in general. The first
and perhaps historically the more popular of the two may be termed the
'technological', 'phenomenal', manipulative' employment of the occult:
that is, the attempt to demonstrate the reality of the occult in much
the same way that Felt promised to do so in his initial
presentation.[15] The second, which might be termed 'theoretical' or
'philosophical' Theosophy, sought to decipher, decode, and unravel the
hidden laws of the cosmos as well as its underlying essence. To a
considerable degree, Madame Blavatsky herself reflected both attitudes,
especially in her early writings, before becoming preponderantly
theoretical in her later work. The Adyar Society during the years of
Mrs. Besant's Presidency, however, moved in the opposite direction by
emphasizing 'technological' Theosophy. This explains in large part the
Neo-Theosophy of C.W. Leadbeater and Mrs. Besant and the inclusion of
the Liberal Catholic Church and the Krishnamurti messianic movement
into the Society.

The second observation given above is strikingly reminiscent of a body
of like-minded individuals intent on investigating a particular object,
in this case the occult. Thus it took on the semblance, at least at the
time of its inception, of an organization not unlike that of the
subsequent Society of Psychical Research.[16] Furthermore, the
structure of the by-laws were in all probability modeled after those of
a private male social club not unlike the one in which Olcott himself
was a member, the Lotus Club of New York. This early phase of the
Society, however, was short-lived. The Society took on more of a
philosophical, or better, an ideological rather than a scientific
stance reflecting another institution that was male dominated,
Freemasonry. A review of the origins of the Theosophical Society does
not warrant the assumption that women were attracted to the Society at
its inception because of the doctrine of Brotherhood. This teaching was
obviously non-existent; furthermore, a stated above, the Society
reflected the organization and attitude of an exclusively male
institution. The question remains, then, as to what induced women to
join prior to the introduction of the notion of Brotherhood as an
object of the Society.

WOMEN IN THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

The object of the Society that was quoted by Dr. Bednarowski as a
principal factor in attracting women to the Adyar Society received its
final revision in 1896, twenty-one years after the Society's
inauguration. It reads as follows:

To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood without distinction
of race, creed, sex, caste or colour.

Although introduced a few years after the Society was founded, it has
since developed into the single most important object of the Society.
Its origins, however, are not as clear as one would expect. It appears
that the first mention of 'Brotherhood' appears in an information sheet
entitled "The Theosophical Society: Its Origin, Plan and Aims".
Composed in early 1878 and ready for distribution on May 3rd of that
year, the principal author of the circular, Henry Steel Olcott, wrote
that one of the objects of the Society, indeed its main object, was

to aid in the institution of a Brotherhood of Humanity wherein all
good and pure men, of every race, shall recognize each other as
the equal effects (upon this planet) of one Uncreated, Universal,
Infinite, and Everlasting Cause. [17]

By early 1879, the title of the Society was known as "The Theosophical
Society or Universal Brotherhood" with one of its objects being "to
promote a feeling of brotherhood among nations."[18] Such an interest
arose, at least partially, with the establishment of an alliance with
the Arya Samaj, a Neo-Hindu organization established in 1875 by Swami
Dayananda Sarasvati that considered the Veda the fount of Truth.[19]
The alliance of a Western religio-philosophical organization with an
Indian non-Christian and even anti-Christian society would be regarded
with acrimony at the time.[20] Consequently, it is little wonder that a
related object listed in the 1879 Rules was "to oppose and counteract
bigotry in every form, whether as an intolerant religious sectarianism
or belief in miracles or anything supernatural." Three revisions of the
rules took place over the next three years [21] with the last, in early
1882, serving as the direct antecedent to the final 1896 revision: "to
form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without
distinction of race, creed, or colour." [22] The penultimate revision
took place in 1888 adding to the above "without distinction of race,
creed, sex, caste or colour." [23] What the immediate cause was to
induce the authors to expand the list is not clear, but there can be no
doubt that with the internationalization of the Society in terms of
general membership came a growing awareness of the importance of
universal applicability of the idea of equality. This growing awareness
is further reflected in the revision of this object. Furthermore, there
seems to have occurred a cross-fertilization of the general theme of
equality in the works of Edward Bellamy, especially his best-selling
utopian novel, LOOKING BACKWARD. The publication of this book in 1887,
advocating a cooperative rather than a competitive society, in other
words a version of Socialism, induced many theosophists to consider him
a true theosophist. Although not a member of the Society[24], his
works, including "The Blindman's World" and "To Whom This May Come",
not only caused considerable excitement In the theosophical arena[25]
but also induced two theosophists to consider him a true theosophist.
Although not a member of the Society [24], his works, including "The
Blindman’s World" and "To Whom This May Come", not only caused
considerable excitement in the theosophical arena [25] but also induced
two theosophists, Cyrus Field Willard and Sylvester Baxter, to
establish the first Nationalistic Club, with the Nationalist movement
subsequently becoming a popular phenomenon in the late 1880's and
90's.[26] Theosophists also dominated the journal of the movement, THE
NATIONALIST; in fact, no less a figure than Abner Doubleday, a
vice-president and for a short time the President of the T.S., joined a
Nationalist Club.[27] The connection of the two organizations was made
explicit in the declaration of the Principles of the Nationalist Clubs:
"The principle of the Brotherhood of Humanity is one of the eternal
truths that govern the world's progress on lines which distinguish
human nature from brute nature."[28]

It would be clear that the continued revisions and clarification to the
statement on Brotherhood as an object of the T.S. and its emphasis in
the Nationalist movement bear out Dr. Bednarowski's contention that it
was an important factor in attracting many women to the Society, at
least from the mid 1880's on.[29] It is important, however, to keep in
mind that Brotherhood was not only a social or egalitarian ideal; it
also referred to a fundamental philosophical principle that embodied
one very important characteristic of the pre-modern Theosophical
Movement, namely, that an interconnectedness existed between the micro-
and macro-cosm. This was first expressed in its modern version in the
New York Circular of 1978 and was given its classical expression in the
third of THE SECRET DOCTRINE[30]:

The fundamental identity of all souls with the universal
Over-Soul, the latter being itself an aspect of the Unknown Root;
and the obligatory pilgrimage for every Soul--a spark of the
former --through the Cycle of Incarnation (or "Necessity") in
accordance with Cyclic and Karmic law. . .

The relationship of the divine and the human, therefore, was expressed
not through metaphysical terminology but through a term that was made
popular by the French Revolution: 'fraternity'. What is of importance
is that the metaphysical definition of Brotherhood served as the basis
for its sociological expression. Furthermore, the latter cannot be
associated with any form of socialism or egalitarianism. As attractive
as Bellamy's version of this form of Brotherhood was, Blavatsky made it
clear that it was not perfect because of the continued presence of
selfishness. Rather, it is in the Christian and Buddhist writings that
one witnesses perfect, altruistic equality or socialism.[31] The
attraction to Theosophy, therefore, was and is associated with
metaphysical and social Brotherhood, not simply the latter as suggested
by Bednarowski.

If Brotherhood was an important factor in the recruitment of women
members from the mid- 1880's on, the motivating factor prior to this
period appears to have been Spiritualism, a movement primarily
initiated by women and in which they played a very influential
role.[32] Modern Spiritualism dates back to 1848 when 'proof' of
survival after death was first demonstrated at the Hydesville home of
John and Margaret Fox, where their daughters Catherine and Margaretta,
devised a means of communicating with a purported spirit. Over the
years, Spiritualism had its ups and downs in popularity, but it is
clear that during the 1870's it was extremely popular. No less a figure
than Alfred R. Wallace, the naturalist who developed a theory of
evolution based on natural selection and himself a Spiritualist,
estimated that as of 1874 there were from eight to eleven million
Spiritualists in the U.S. alone.[33] He also reported that the number
of practicing American mediums at the time to be about 200, many of
whom were women[34] and most, if not all, of these women to be
advocates of women's rights.[35]

Spiritualism afforded women a means of escape from the confines of the
home by allowing them to develop their powers of mediumship, a
profession that was considered to be decidedly feminine.[36] Keeping in
mind that the Theosophical Society arose at least partially out of the
Spiritualist Movement, it is little wonder that women were involved
from the very beginning. The "formers" of the Society included a number
of prominent Spiritualists: Henry J. Newton, the President of the First
Society of Spiritualists in New York; Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten and
Charles Carleton Massey, both prominent English Spiritualists; and the
principal founders, Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott. Furthermore,
the number of women in the Theosophical Society from 1875 to the end of
1876, at a time when it was fairly elitist in makeup, is significant.
Of the 85 members admitted, 17 were women, a significant representation
at the time.

THEOSOPHICAL LEADERS

Three women made unique contributions to Theosophy[37 Helena Petrovna
Blavatsky (1831- 1891), Katherine Tingley (1847-1929), and Annie Besant
(1847-1933). In a sense, all three serve as models or archetypes for
those who followed, and most importantly, all three made it possible
for women to continue to play an important role in the societies.

H.P. Blavatsky, one of the founders of the original Theosophical
Society in 1875 and its chief theoretician, may be considered the
'other worldly' magus, i.e., a person who lives, with some variation,
the hero's life and who is in actuality a shaman in modern guise.
Katherine Tingley, the leader of the Universal Brotherhood and
Theosophical Society (as the Pasadena Theosophical Society was called
during her leadership), emphasized the application of Theosophy in
'This World', especially in the areas of education, the arts, and the
peace movement. She was the quintessential 'Social Feminist'[38], a
term referring to those women whose primary concern was service to
society rather than the concern of broadening individual opportunities
for women. Annie Besant seems to fall somewhere between Blavatsky and
Tingley: like Blavatsky by further uncovering the he same time taking
on the role of the Veil of Isis while at the 'Social Feminist' to
heights rarely if ever achieved before or since in her role as
President of the T.S. (Adyar) and as a leading political and moral
leader in India.

HELENA PETROVNA BLAVATSKY

Undoubtedly one of the most fascinating women of the nineteenth
century, an adventuress who traveled the world, often without escort,
in search of the arcana of the cosmos from individual and secret
organizations scattered around the globe, a disciple under the tutelage
of highly advanced Masters or mahatmas, a psychic of great power
capable of producing paranormal phenomena such as levitation, rappings,
and materializations, a woman who demonstrated her vast knowledge and
control over occult laws, and a writer of great force, persuasion, and
erudition who claimed to reveal the true nature of the Divine,
humanity, and the cosmos, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky epitomized the
woman of mystery who claimed to remove the veil of the cosmic mysteries
but was herself covered with a veil that she made sure would never be
removed. As suggested in the preceding section, she was a magus, i.e.
the shaman living in the modern world. Like magi that preceded her, she
supposedly traveled to the far reaches of the world in search of the
Divine Truth, and claimed to have received that Truth after being
initiated into an Esoteric Brotherhood that possessed and preserved
this Truth. We hear stories of her residing in Constantinople,
supposedly the city where the greatest concentration of Sufis lived
when she arrived there as well as being a center of the Spanish Jews,
many of who were known for their knowledge of the Cabala[39]; dressing
in men's clothing so that she could study the Osirian mysteries;
spending three nights in the Pyramid of Cheops, that paragon of
mystery; traveling to Nauvoo, Illinois to investigate the Mormon
community; wandering to Mexico and South America; even journeying to
California by covered wagon according to some accounts as well as to
India and Tibet; and meeting her Teacher and Master, the gatekeeper to
the Mysteries, in London in 1851--all this and much more--before
finally coming to the U.S. on orders, so she claimed, from her Master
to begin her main work of disclosing to the initiated the insights into
the nature of the Divine, humanity, and the cosmos.

Like other magi, she displayed abilities, and though the charge is
often repeated that she was a charlatan, the investigative organization
that first suggested this (the Society for Psychic Research) has since
rescinded the accusation. Furthermore, Blavatsky always commanded
considerable attention as magi are wont to do, also acting in ways that
might be viewed as bohemian. Although serving as a model for certain
women leaders in the modern Theosophical Movement[40], the model is not
that of the typical feminist who strives for either women’s rights nor
that of the Spiritualist medium. Blavatsky seems to have exhibited a
combination of 'intuition' and self-sacrifice, two traits assigned to
the feminine personality m the nineteenth century, with that of the
teacher of 'Truth', a task usually assigned to the masculine gender.
All this seems to point to Blavatsky having an androgynous personality
and psyche, an important point since the androgyne is viewed by many
peoples around the world as an exceptionally powerful being.

KATHERINE TINGLEY

If Helena Blavatsky sought independence from the ties of society,
Katherine Tingley was very much an activist in the society of the
latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born on
July 6, 1847, Catharine Augusta Westcott displayed from the time she
was a young girl those qualities that were characterized by her father
as "generous", "unselfish" self-sacrificing", "patient", and
"enduring".[41] She thereby epitomized the ideal of womanhood as it was
being defined in the nineteenth century.[42] Following in her mother's
footsteps she worked at her side feeding the poor near her home. As an
adult, she displayed comparable tendencies by organizing the Ladies
Society of Mercy in 1887, which carried out visitations to hospitals
and prisons; established the Emergency Society (1891-2) to help the
destitute; and established the Do-Good Mission to feed and clothe the
families of striking cloakmakers in 1892 and 1893.[43]

This work, however, though commendable, was apparently not entirely
satisfactory or rewarding to her, for it only relieved suffering, it
did not remove its cause. As expressed in her semi-autobiographical
book, THE GODS AWAIT [44], it was William Quan Judge, the leader of the
American theosophists, who brought her to this realization and who
showed her, by word and example, how she could better serve humanity.
Mrs. Tingley thus became a Theosophist because of her sincere
admiration of Judge and through the one teaching that apparently struck
her as the most basic: the Law of Eternal Justice or Karma [45], for it
is Karma that both explains the cause of misery and opens the way to
its cure. This indeed is the foundation of the theosophical teaching as
she understood it. Such a teaching, coupled with the notion that there
is a Higher Nature--the spark of the Divine within the
individual--which generates love and compassion for one’s fellow man in
both a theoretical and practical vein by "lifting humanity out of the
shadows"[46], reveals the meaning of Brotherhood for Mrs. Tingley: a
dynamic, activist interpretation[47] taking precedence over the
theoretical and philosophical. From this understanding, it is not
difficult to understand why she undertook the large number of the
philanthropic projects from the time that she became Leader of the
Theosophical Society after Judge's death in 1896. Her main
contribution, however, revolved around the establishment of the Point
Loma Community in 1897, which was, according to Dwayne Little[48] "a
demonstration model showing how, when body, soul, mind, and spirit were
in proper alignment with Theosophical ideals, an ideal society worthy
of emulation would result. Most of her work was carried out in the
context of the Community: the education system established therein and
the sponsorship of the arts and music as an integral part of that
system, her numerous relief efforts such as the Sisters of Compassion
(1898), her efforts in organizing an International Theosophical Peace
Congress in 1913, the establishment of the International Brotherhood
League which opposed capital punishment and offered prisoner
assistance, and her efforts in opposing vivisection. [49] It is no
wonder that shortly after Mrs. Tingley became Leader of the T.S. she
merged it with the newly formed Universal Brotherhood in early 1898,
for this title perfectly reflected her vision of Theosophy.

ANNIE BESANT

Annie Besant, the President of the Theosophical Society (Adyar) from
1907 to 1933, synthesized the qualities of Blavatsky and Tingley. Like
Blavatsky, she was considered an innovative teacher of the Wisdom
Doctrine by introducing new insights into the theosophical corpus,
claimed to have been psychically gifted and in contact with Blavatsky's
teachers, and even lived for a time in a rather bohemian life-style as
a younger woman; like Tingley, she was very much the Social Feminist
and activist. Unlike the two, however, she was involved in the
political life of India, becoming briefly the most influential leader
in the Indian nationalist movement prior to Gandhi's ascension in that
role.

Prior to her involvement in the T.S., Annie Wood (her maiden name)
underwent several, often painful and radical transformations in her
belief system. As a young girl, she was raised a Christian exposed to
both Roman Catholicism and Evangelism and predictably married a
clergyman, Frank Besant, a man whom she claimed never loved. After
undergoing a long period of anguish and doubt regarding her Christian
beliefs, an anguish she claimed nearly cost her life, she emerged
an atheist.[50] While this doctrinal turmoil was occurring, she came
under the influence of the freethinker and atheist Charles Bradlaugh
and his National Secular Society. Around that time (1874 and after),
she advocated feminist causes, especially birth control (the first
woman to do so publicly), becoming also the secretary of the Malthusian
League. In December, 1876, she won a seat on the London School Board;
some fourteen months later (February, 1878), she helped to organize the
International Labor Union.[51]

In 1884, she turned to Socialism and formally joined the Fabian Society
in early 1885, apparently nominated by a person who was to have
influence, both intellectually and romantically on her life, George
Bernard Shaw.[52] In the following year, she co-founded with her friend
W.T. Stead, the editor of the PALL MALL GAZETTE, the Law and Liberty
League in order to provide assistance to those jailed workers who
demonstrated for free speech in the "Bloody Sunday in Trafalgar Square"
episode. The League was organized to post bail and to argue the
workers' cause.[53]

Another event of note in her role as Socialist was the championing of
the cause of the women who worked at the Bryant and May match factory
in 1888. The working conditions at the factory were such that Besant
and her new colleague, Herbert Burrows of the Social Democratic
Federation, instigated a boycott of the factory and a strike by its
workers, subsequently establishing the Matchmakers' Union, thus
becoming one of the first to institute the "new Unionism." [54] Their
actions proved so successful that they organized a number of other
worker strikes that year and the next.

For all her activism in Socialist causes, Socialist philosophy, and
Socialist societies (she was by now a member of both the Fabian Society
and the Social Democratic Federation), there was a sense of inadequacy
of the philosophy. She writes:

The Socialist position sufficed on the economic side, but where to
the inspiration, the motive, which should lead to the realization
of the Brotherhood of Man?[55]

There was much talk at this time (1888) on the idea of Brotherhood,
remarked Mrs. Besant in an article in the February issue of OUR CORNER,
"in which service to Man should take the place erstwhile given to the
service of God. . ."[56] But if Socialism was insufficient, then where
could it be realized? Her attention was first drawn to the occult with
the publication of A.P. Sinnett's OCCULT WORLD and through Spiritualism
from 1886 on, but it was her review of Blavatsky's THE SECRET DOCTRINE
that transformed her from Socialism to Theosophy.

. . . how my mind lept forward to presage the conclusions, how
natural it was, how coherent, how subtle, and yet how
intelligible. I was dazzled, blinded by the light in which
disjointed facts were seen as parts of a mighty whole. . . I knew
that the weary search was over and the very Truth was found.[57]

For a woman of such intelligence, insight, and yearning, no simple
reason can be given for her rapture. I have little doubt that the
complexity and organization of THE SECRET DOCTRINE answered her own
doubts at this time in her life. It seems reasonable to assume that
this was the impetus for her conversion and joining of the Theosophical
Society on May 10, 1889. Her subsequent explanation to Charles
Bradlaugh, listing the Society's three objects (Universal Brotherhood,
the study of Aryan literature and philosophy, and the investigation of
unexplained laws of nature and the physical powers latent in man) and
the denial of a personal God[58], seems to indicate that they only
served as a convenient means of explaining both a very complicated
series of experiences and an inordinately complicated philosophy
embodied in Blavatsky's work.

CONCLUSIONS

One of the purposes of this essay was to call attention to the
insufficiency of simplistic and reductionist arguments explaining why
individuals are attracted to a religious movement, why they remain in
it, and why they thrive in it. This is one reason for disagreeing with
Dr. Bednarowski's theological, sociological, and economic reasons cited
at the beginning of this essay as playing a major role in women's
achieving leadership positions in the Movement. What her four reasons
indicate is that they, in whole or in part, facilitated somewhat two of
the leaders' role and status within the Movement. Mrs. Besant's and
Tingley's reasons for joining the Society came about not through any
exclusively doctrinal decision but because of the profound influence
and force of example that Madame Blavatsky had on Mrs. Besant and Mr.
Judge on Mrs. Tingley. This influence, accompanied with their
acquaintance of the works and teachings of Blavatsky and Judge,
solidified their opinion of the two. Once this occurred, a selected
encapsulation and systematization of Theosophy, such as the three
objects of the Society and the Propositions in THE SECRET DOCTRINE
served as the message and essence of this very complex philosophy. But
once in the Society, it was Besant's and Tingley's inborn talent that
led to their success and to rise above any gender discrimination that
may have existed at the time.

The role of Madame Blavatsky in the Theosophical Movement presents an
added dimension. In a sense, she and Madames Besant and Tingley were
doing women's work, albeit in an expanded theater. If the role of women
was perceived to be in the home, the home itself could be expanded
metaphorically to include not only the immediate biological family but
also the community at large, including the religious sphere (in Church
leadership or Church-related activities[59] and more secular social
concerns, including those covered by Socialism. Connected to the
religious sphere was the opinion that women were more naturally
inclined to communicate with the 'other world', thus affording women a
role that was every bit the equal of men or even superior to them. Thus
Spiritualism and the occult were natural realms of activity for women,
allowing Madame Blavatsky a unique position in the nineteenth century
since she was involved in both spheres. This role was passed along to
Mrs. Besant to a greater degree and to Tingley to a lesser degree, but
what they lacked in this area, they more than made up in the social
sphere. The success of all three legitimized women's capacities to be
leaders. In the Theosophical Movement, this allowed for many women to
assume leadership positions in the normal course of events. In the
Theosophical Societies, Adyar and Pasadena, although women did assume
leadership positions following Besant and Tingley, it was only in the
1970's that they did so. There IS no evidence pro or con that this time
gap was due to latent anti-feminist. My guess is that the immediate
successors to the two leaders were viewed as natural successors because
of their long history of service to the Societies and their closeness
to their predecessors: Dr. G. de Purucker as the successor to Mrs.
Tingley, Dr. George Arundale as the successor to Mrs. Besant. The role
of women following the great leaders, however, does deserve an in-depth
study since there are many questions left unanswered.

California State University, Fullerton.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES

1. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION, XLVIII/2 (June, 1980):
207-231.

2. Degler, Carl N. AT ODDS: WOMEN AND THE FAMILY IN AMERICA FROM THE
REVOLUTION TO THE PRESENT, (New York and Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1980).

3. I am mindful that the letters of the Masters of Wisdom (the
Mahatmas) to A.P. Sinnett, an early theosophical writer and leader, and
the writings of William Q. Judge have an important place in Modern
Theosophy, but the writings of Blavatsky are universally accepted and
studied, which is not necessarily the case for the above. The
publications in question are THE MAHATMA LETTERS [21], transcribed,
compiled, and within an introduction by A.T. Barker (London: Rider and
Company, 1926) and W.Q. Judge's AN OCEAN OF THEOSOPHY (Pasadena, CA.:
Theosophical University Press, 1964).

4. Hine, Robert V., CALIFORNIA'S UTOPIAN COLONIES, (Berkeley, CA.:
University of California Press, 1983): 53. [Originally published in
1953.] Anonymous, THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT: 1875-1950 (Los Angeles:
The Cunningham Press, 1951): 302; Bruce Campbell, ANCIENT WISDOM
REVIVED: A HISTORY OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT (Berkeley, CA.:
University of California Press, 1980): 158.

5. THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT: 270f., 279-280, 302; ANCIENT WISDOM
REVIVED: 135- 36; Emmett A. Greenwalt, CALIFORNIA UTOPIA: POINT LOMA:
1897-1942, Second edition (San Diego, CA.: Point Loma Publications,
Inc., 1978):

6. Crosbie was a Boston Theosophist who left the headquarters of the
Universal Brotherhood at Point Loma in 1904. See THE THEOSOPHICAL
MOVEMENT: 316f.

7. Other societies that are or were directly related to Modern
Theosophy include The Independent Theosophical Society of America
(Chicago), founded by Celestia Root Lang in 1914 and the Blavatsky
Association (London), which boasted several prominent former members of
the Adyar T.S., including Alice Leighton Cleather and William
Kingsland. See the O.K. LIBRARY CRITIC (Washington, D.C.), vol. 14, no.
18: 4. There are also a number of organizations that have expanded or
built upon Blavatsky's Theosophy and so deserve to be placed in the
Theosophical Movement: the Quest Society (London) founded in 1913 by
G.R.S. Mead, the Arcane School of Alice Bailey, and Carl Louis van
Grasshopf’s (aka Max Heindel) Rosicrucian Fellowship, which is
presently located in Oceanside, California.

8. For sources see James A. Santucci, THEOSOPHY AND THE THEOSOPHICAL
SOCIETY (London: The Theosophical History Center, 1987): 2 and
accompanying notes.

9. According to his death certificate, Felt was a mechanical engineer;
in the 1895-6 Manhattan city telephone directory, he is listed as a
civil engineer.

10. The manuscript containing the result of this research was supposed
to have been published in the form of a rather large tome by the
publisher J.W. Bouton under the title THE KABALLAH OF THE EGYPTIANS AND
THE GREEK CANON OF PROPORTION. Judging from some of the comments
contained in the Prospectus, it was eagerly awaited because of the
rather exciting discoveries thought to have been contained therein. For
some reason, the manuscript was never published and is nowhere to be
found.

11. Henry Steel Olcott, OLD DIARY LEAVES, volume I (New York and
London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1895): 126-131. Therein is reproduced a
letter of George Felt to the LONDON SPIRITUALIST dated June 19, 1878
that details his version of the lecture and circumstances surrounding
it.

12. This is the accepted version of the foundation of the Society.
Twenty years after its formation, another member of the original group
who was present at the meeting where it was proposed, Henry J. Newton,
suggested that he, Newton, was the individual responsible for proposing
its formation. This is detailed in "The Real Origin of the Theosophical
Society" by Questor Vitae in LIGHT (November 23, 1895: 569 and
continued in the November 30, 1895 issue: 577).
Still another version was related by Mrs. Besant in her "Speeding the
Message", LUCIFER (London), vol. 12, no. 68 (April 15, 1893): 105 "She
[H.P.B.] told me herself how her Master bade her found it [the T.S.],
and how at His bidding she wrote the suggestion of starting it on a
slip of paper and gave it to W.Q. Judge to pass to Colonel Olcott. . .'

13. Minutes of the September 8, 1875 meeting.

14. "Preamble and By-Laws of the Theosophical Society" (October 30,
1875).

15. In the Preamble of the "Preamble and By-Laws of the Theosophical
Society", this is emphasized: The title of the Theosophical Society
explains the objects and desires of its founders: they seek "to obtain
knowledge of the nature and attributes of the Supreme Power and of the
higher spirits by the aid of physical processes." In other words, they
hope, that by going deeper than modern science has hitherto done, into
the esoteric philosophies of ancient times, they may be enabled to
obtain, for themselves and other investigators, proof of the existence
of an "unseen Universe," the nature of its inhabitants, if such there
be, and laws which govern them and their relations with mankind. (5)

16. This is reflected in Olcott's early fascination with Spiritualist
phenomena. In 1874, he investigated one such case at the Eddy homestead
in Chittenden, Vermont and printed his observations in the NEW YORK
DAILY GRAPHIC in a series of articles that first appeared in the
September 29, 1874 edition. A subsequent publication originated from
these articles, entitled PEOPLE FROM THE OTHER WORLD (Rutlan, Vermont
Charles E. Tuttle, 1972.

17. The circular is printed in H.P. BLAVATSKY: COLLECTED WRITINGS:
1874-1878, volume one, edited by Boris de Zirkoff (Wheaton, ILL.: The
Theosophical Press, 1966): 375.

18. "The Theosophical Society: Address delivered by Col. H.S Olcott,
President Theosophical Society, At the Framji Cowasji Hall, Bombay on
March 23rd, 1879 Together with the Rules of the Society (Bombay:
Printed at the Industrial Press, 1879). The object quoted appears in
Section VIII.e (p. iii).

19. On the association of the T.S. with the Arya Samaj, see Michael
Gomes, THE DAWNING OF THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT (Wheaton, IL.: The
Theosophical Printing House [Quest Book], 1987): 13, 162-169. See also
Mary Neff, PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF H.P. BLAVATSKY (Wheaton, 111. The
Theosophical Publishing House, 1967 [a Quest Book; first published in
1937]: 260.

20. See "The Arya Samaj" by Helena P. Blavatsky, in H.P. BLAVATSKY
COLLECTED WRITINGS, 1: 379-384 [originally published in the June 2,
1878 issue of the New York ECHO].

21. In 1880, the third object of the T.S. was "to gradually form the
nucleus of a Brotherhood of Humanity, or Universal Brotherhood, of
which each member joining might in time of need and according to his
deserts, be helped by all and help in his turn, as a brother would
another brother" ("The Theosophical Society: The Revised Rules of the
Society" [Bombay, 1880]). On February 17, 1881, the first object was
"to form the nucleus of a universal Brotherhood of Humanity, the
obvious philanthropic value of which must be beyond dispute, while the
esoteric significance of a union formed on that plan, is conceived by
the founders, for reasons derived from a study of Oriental Philosophy,
to be of great importance." ("The Rules of the Theosophical Society"
[Allahabad: Pioneer Press, 1881].

22. "A Report of the Proceedings of a Public Meeting Held at the Framji
Cowasji Institute, Bombay, on the 12th of January, 1882 to celebrate
the Sixth Anniversary of the Theosophical Society" (Bombay, 1882).

23. Underline mine. Supplement to the Theosophist: General Report of
the Thirteenth Convention and Anniversary of the Theosophical Society.

24. Arthur E. Morgan, THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDWARD BELLAMY (New York:
King's Crown Press, 1945). The author does mention that Bellamy’s
brother, Charles, was a member (p. 33).

25. Ibid., 29-33.

26. Jackson, Carl T. THE ORIENTAL RELIGION AND AMERICAN THOUGHT:
NINETEENTH-CENTURY EXPLORATIONS (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1981
[Contributions in American Studies, Number 55]: 172.

27. Ibid.; Walter La Feber and Richard Polenberg, THE AMERICAN CENTURY
(New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1975): 14. Compare too H.P.
Blavatsky, THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY (Pasadena, CA.: Theosophical University
Press, 1972) [reprint of the original edition of 1889]: 44-5.

28. Blavatsky, THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY: 45. Blavatsky stressed the
similarities of the T.S. and the Nationalists in very explicit terms.
Reference is also made in THE THEOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT: 76.

29. It may not have been an important factor in Katherine Tingley's
decision in joining the T.S. as will be shown below. It certainly was
for Annie Besant, however.

30. H.P. Blavatsky, THE SECRET DOCTRINE: THE SYNTHESIS OF SCIENCE,
RELIGION, AND PHILOSOPHY. Two volumes in one (Los Angeles: The
Theosophy Company, 1974 [originally published in 1888]): 17.

31. H.P. Blavatsky, THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY: 44, 79.

32. R. Laurence Moore, "The Spiritualist Medium: A Study of Female
Professionalism in Victorian America", AMERICAN QUARTERLY, XXVII/2
(May, 1975): 200-221. My thanks to Karen Lystra for bringing this
article to my attention.
One recent publication on the subject is RADICAL SPIRITS: SPIRITUALISM
AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA by Anne Braude
(New York: Beacon Press, 1989).

33. "A Defense of Modern Spiritualism", RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHI-CAL JOURNAL
(July 18, 1874): 1 (reprinted from the LONDON FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW, May,
1874). This figure was based on the opinion of Judge John Edmonds, a
former Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court. Wallace also added
that most Spiritualists were not members of Spiritualist organizations;
they were, rather, mainline Chris-tians. Of the Spiritualist
organizations, Wallace reported that as of 1870, there were 20 State
Associations, and 105 Societies of Spiritualists.

34. Bednarowski (215) mentions the BANNER OF LIGHT (April 15, 1876)
printing a list of about 300 mediums, 127 of which were women.

35. Braude, Anne. RADICAL SPIRITS: SPIRITUALISM AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN
NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA (Boston: Beacon Press, 1989).

36. Moore, "The Spiritualist Medium": 202f. Many Spiritualists were
even antagonistic to marriage and the family (Bednarowski: 215-6), most
likely contributing to the increased number of divorces in the 1870's
and 1880's (Dealer, AT ODDS: 166).

37. By this I mean the Theosophical Society (Adyar) and the
Theosophical Society (Pasadena).

38. A term derived from William O'Neill's EVERYONE WAS BRAVE: THE
DECLINE AND FALL OF FEMINISM IN AMERICA (Chicago, 1969) and quoted in
Degler: 326f.

39. Paul Johnson, in an unpublished and untitled manuscript emphasizing
Blavatsky's Sufi connection, illustrates this possible relationship.

40. Moore, "The Spiritualist Medium": 201-203.

41. "J.P.L. Westcott's Statement No. 2" This is an unpublished document
that was written when Mr. Westcott was seventy-five years old, which
places the document around 1898.

42. Degler, AT ODDS: 298f, and Kathryn Sklar, CATHARINE BEECHER: A
STUDY IN AMERICAN DOMESTICITY (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.,
1973): 84-85, 96-97.

43. An unpublished chronology of events in the life of Mrs. Tingley is
in the Archives of the Theosophical Society (Pasadena). See also
Greenwalt, CALIFORNIA UTOPIA: 12f.

44. Point Loma: Woman's International Theosophical League, 1926: 79-80.

45. THE GODS AWAIT: 81f.

46. Ibid., 81-115.

47. And embodied in the person W.Q. Judge, as she makes clear in THE
GODS AWAIT: 80.

48. "Katherine Tingley: The Theosophist as Progressive Reformer,
1890-1929" (Faculty Paper and Lecture Series, Point Loma Nazarene
College, January 28, 1987): 7.

49. Greenwalt, CALIFORNIA UTOPIA: 47f., 100f., 167f.

50. ANNIE BESANT: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, second edition (London: T. Fisher
Unwin, n.d. [1893?]): 88. Her early life is detailed in the first three
chapters. See also Catherine Lowman Wessinger, ANNIE BESANT AND THE
PROGRESSIVE MESSIANISM (1847-1933) (Lewiston/Queenston: The Edwin
Mellen Press, 1988) "Studies in Women and Religion, vol. 26]: 41-50;
Arthur H. Nethercot, THE FIRST FIVE LIVES OF ANNIE BESANT (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1960): 1 -60.

51. Wessinger, ANNIE BESANT: 50-56; Nethercot, THE FIRST FIVE LIVES OF
ANNIE BESANT: 89-144; ANNIE BESANT: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY: 131 f.

52. AUTOBIOGRAPHY: 303; Nethercot, op. cit.: 213f, and 216.

53. Nethercot, op. cit.: 243-251.

54. Ibid., 263 and 253f.; Besant AUTOBIOGRAPHY: 329f.; Wessinger, op.
cit.: 63.

55. Besant, AUTOBIOGRAPHY: 338.

56. Ibid.: 329.

57. Ibid.: 340 and 339.

58. Ibid.: 351-52.

59. Deglar, AT ODDS: 298f.