February 24 Lecture

Violation of boudaries and revealed secrets. Related to modern social networking privacy concerns.

The Selected Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson edited by Joel Myerson

Emerson wrote to Margaret Fuller.

Hatreds Swift Repulsions by Strauch divides the letters into different sections based on years.

Strauch doesn't see a personal relationship between Emerson and Fuller but friendship.

1840-1842 was the height of Emerson and Fuller's letter writing.

September 26, 1840 was the declaration of love from Fuller.

Caroline Sturgis says they may have been making a reference to a piece of writing Emerson and Fuller had read.

There is no reference in Emerson's writing that the love between him and his wife had ever strayed.

The death of Emerson's family members, including his son, changed his outlook on Transcendentalism. You start to see shades of the dark romantics in his writing.

What were the love relationships of Fuller and Emerson?

According to Fuller there are no intellectual differences between men and women.

Female concerns

Escaping or resisting barriers.

The want of vocation.

Defining, escaping, and cultivating were three main thoughts.

Woman as a human and not just a gender.

Vagueness of gender

What a woman could or should be.

Defining man and woman.

Subtopic

What does masculine mean?

Fuller offers no redefinition of genders.

Certain words define genders.

Qualifiers exclusive to men or to women in different proportions.

Is gender only a performance?

Do we internalize mysogyny?

What parts of gender and sex are biological and cultural norms? How does cultural imagery reflect this?

The notion of isolation begins on pages 330-331.

Does this piece contain an arrogant and self-righteous tone?

Does the piece lead you to a different understanding of Emerson?

On pages 374-375 does Emerson convince you to not want to be a transcendentalist?

Does Emerson not include himself as a transcendentalist when he refers to them as "they" and not "we"?

Emerson did not want to associate with Brook Farm.

What does the ideal transcendentalist do according to Emerson?

Satire strengthens the movement.

There's no way to purely apply Emerson's idealism to society.

Egotism is inherent in Transcendentalism.

The Transcendentalists aren't doing anything to help the less fortunate or the sick.

utopia.

Subtopic