Correspondence, social network analysis and the negotiation of capital: The habitus of females in the letters of two Scottish poets

Abstract

This article combines quantitative social network analysis of two literary networks with a qualitative analysis of selected letters in order to characterise the changing habitus of females in the Scottish literary scene between two generations. The study focuses on the correspondence of two key Scottish poets of the 20^th century, ‘Hugh MacDiarmid’ and Edwin Morgan. A social

network analysis identifies the correspondents with whom each had strong and weak ties. A close reading reveals how the habitus of female correspondents was constituted by means of negotiations regarding economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital, in Pierre Bourdieu’s terms. The letters of the two poets reveal a shift in the role of females in such negotiations. MacDiarmid negotiates economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital in his letters to female correspondents, whereas Morgan focuses more on cultural and symbolic capital. While this difference may well reflect the different social circumstances of each poet, Morgan’s letters also show females in a wider range of social roles engaging in the negotiation of cultural and symbolic capital. The analysis suggests a marked shift in the assumptions about the status and roles of females in the cultural community in the early and late 20^th century.