Jewels and Virtue: The Adventures of Eovaai and Queen Kiam
Faculty Mentor
Matthew Binney
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
4-14-2026 10:00 AM
End Date
4-14-2026 10:20 AM
Location
PUB 319
Primary Discipline of Presentation
English
Abstract
Eliza Haywood's The Adventures of Eovaai (1736) satirizes Robert Walpole’s ministry within an oriental tale set in ancient China. Recent scholars have taken different positions on the function of the Chinese frame: Jennifer Hargrave argues that Haywood draws on Jesuit Sinological scholarship, including the 1724 Morals of Confucius, to establish the Chinese frame as the political foundation of the text, while Brandon Chua argues Haywood uses Chinese exoticism to raise questions about gender in politics and to criticize British colonialism. This paper agrees with both positions but argues that neither account identifies the specific source of the text’s gendered politics. The Morals of Confucius contains the story of Queen Kiam, who removes her jewelry before her husband the king and declares that virtue surpasses all jewels, reforming his governance. Similarly, Eovaai loses her magical ruling jewel and must undergo a political education to make up for its loss. When Eovaai's jewel is eventually returned, she has already learned how to be a virtuous ruler in its absence. This pattern follows the story of Queen Kiam by demonstrating that sovereignty is grounded in virtue, not in the external object. The connection between Queen Kiam and Eovaai provides a Confucian precedent in which a woman's virtue is itself the basis of political authority.
Recommended Citation
Grove, Cierra, "Jewels and Virtue: The Adventures of Eovaai and Queen Kiam" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 4.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/op_2026/o2_2026/4
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Jewels and Virtue: The Adventures of Eovaai and Queen Kiam
PUB 319
Eliza Haywood's The Adventures of Eovaai (1736) satirizes Robert Walpole’s ministry within an oriental tale set in ancient China. Recent scholars have taken different positions on the function of the Chinese frame: Jennifer Hargrave argues that Haywood draws on Jesuit Sinological scholarship, including the 1724 Morals of Confucius, to establish the Chinese frame as the political foundation of the text, while Brandon Chua argues Haywood uses Chinese exoticism to raise questions about gender in politics and to criticize British colonialism. This paper agrees with both positions but argues that neither account identifies the specific source of the text’s gendered politics. The Morals of Confucius contains the story of Queen Kiam, who removes her jewelry before her husband the king and declares that virtue surpasses all jewels, reforming his governance. Similarly, Eovaai loses her magical ruling jewel and must undergo a political education to make up for its loss. When Eovaai's jewel is eventually returned, she has already learned how to be a virtuous ruler in its absence. This pattern follows the story of Queen Kiam by demonstrating that sovereignty is grounded in virtue, not in the external object. The connection between Queen Kiam and Eovaai provides a Confucian precedent in which a woman's virtue is itself the basis of political authority.
