TeamB

Romantic period philosophy emphasized art, self awareness and the relationship among divinity, nature and humanity. The Transcendentalism society featured a freethinking liberal philosophy that “favored nature over formal religious structure.” [1] At the forefront of the Transcendentalist movement was the belief that self development was accomplished through self-awareness. “If according to Romantic theory, self and nature were one, self-awareness was not a selfish dead end but a mode of knowledge opening up the universe.” [2] In 1844 Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote an essay called “The Poet.” This essay provides insight into the mind of the influential writer and his thoughts regarding romantic expressionism. //“For all men live by truth, and stand in need of expression. In love, in art, in avarice, in politics, in labor, in games, we study to utter our painful secret. The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.”// [3] The Transcendentalist agenda was in response to “18th century rationalism and a manifestation of the general humanitarian trend of the 19th century thought.” [4] This event was based on belief in the harmony of world and God. The dogma was self reliance “through the belief in the identification of the individual soul with God.” [5] Transcendentalism was associated with Concord, a small New England rural artist’s community, that was established as an alternative to “American Materialism” [6] Concord attracted the following people: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, and William Ellery Channing. For four years the Transcendentalists published a quarterly magazine called, “The Dial.” Several of the Transcendentalists were involved in “experimental utopian communities such as nearby Brook Farm, (described in Hawthorne’s, __The Blithedale Romance,__ and __Fruitlands__.” [7] __The Blithedale Romance__ is a work of fiction derived from Hawthorne’s experiences at Brook Farm. Blithedale is an experimental community whose members are in search of the “better life.” [8]   “And//, now, we were seated by the brisk fireside of the old farm-house; the same fire that glimmers so faintly among my reminiscences, at the beginning of this chapter. There we sat, with the snow melting out of our hair and beards, and our faces all a-blaze, what with the past inclemency and present warmth. It was, was indeed, a right good fire that we found awaiting us, built up of great, rough logs, and knotty limbs, and splintered fragments of an oak-tree, such as farmers are wont to keep for their own hearths; since these crooked and unmanageable boughs could never be measured into merchantable cords for the market. A family of the old Pilgrims might have swung their kettle over precisely such a fire as this, only, no doubt, a bigger one; and contrasting it with my coal-crate, I felt, so much the more, that we had transported ourselves a world wide distance from the system of society that shackled us at breakfast-time. **[9]** // They proclaimed their allegiance to each other, their co-operative community, and the pursuit of intellectual truth through empirical investigation that a natural non-modern society offers. Eventually, as a result of their selfish pursuit of self interests and self discovery, discontent permeated the membership. As the members discovered one another’s secret passions, Blithedale began to unravel. Blithedale is “destroyed by the self interested behavior of some of its members.” [10] As discontent settled in, the members moved on. The discontented protagonist and narrator, Miles Coverdale, is disillusioned with Blithedale: // “The truth was, that an intolerable discontent and irksomeness had come over me. Blithedale was no longer what it had been. Everything was suddenly faded.” “In truth, it was dizzy work, amid such fermentation of opinions as was going on in the general brain trust of the Community. It was a kind of Bedlam, for the time being; although, out of the very thoughts that were wildest and most destructive, might grow a wisdom, holy calm, and pure, and that should incarnate itself with the substance of a noble and happy life. But, as matters now were, I felt myself, and having a decided tendency towards the actual, I never liked to feel it.” **[11]** // The Transcendentalists pursued individual viewpoints and pushed radical “individualism to the extreme.” [12] These American writers viewed themselves as “lonely explorers outside society. The American hero—like Herman Melville’s Captain Ahab, or Mark Twain’s Huck Finn, or Edgar Allan Poe’s Arthur Gordon Pym—typically faced risk, or even certain destruction, in the pursuit of metaphysical self discovery.” [13] In 1820, Scottish minister, Sydney Smith published an article which made American scholars uncomfortable. The following are some of his questions: // “In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book or goes to an American play? Or looks at an American picture or statue? What does the world yet owe to American physicians or surgeons? What new substances have their chemists discovered? Who drinks out of American glasses? Or eats from American plates? Or wears American coats or gowns? Or sleeps in American blankets?” // America had to develop a national identity, a literary culture that was clearly American. “Romanticism was the dominant attitude in the early 19th century American literature. This was natural, since there were plenty of romantic features in American culture even without the aesthetic or philosophical principles of Romanticism. Americans admired their nature and their short history. Still, the authors faced problems trying to combine their nationalistic ideals with the European impulses.” [14] When the War (1812 -1814) against England was over, “historical” writing was a way to build up America’s image and the historical writer was viewed as an educator. Patriotism dominated the historical accounts. By the early 1920’s literature also included nationalism and Romanticism. Eventually the literacy rate improved and many new readers sought books and developed interest in newspapers and works of fiction. Women writers of the Romantic period did not have equal opportunity for education as men enjoyed. “They were not allowed into professional schools and higher education. They were forbidden to speak in public and even attend the public conventions. They courageously demanded fundamental reforms, such as the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage, despite social ostracism and sometimes financial ruin.” [15] Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a self-educated writer and intellectual that dedicated her life to serving others. “Gilman envisioned a feminized educational system and a feminized society. By feminizing the values, attitudes, and sensibilities of education, as well as the content, methodology, and philosophy, Gilman hoped to end gender discrepancies within society by creating a fundamentally new woman.” [16] Lydia Child (1802-1880) established a private girl’s school and published anti-slavery works. She argued for women’s equality by pointing to “their historical achievements.” [17] The Romantic period produced many great literary works. Furthermore, the Transcendentalist movement expanded the literary horizon by offering unique viewpoints. The Transcendentalist movement pushed “radical individualism to the extreme,” [18] and this action facilitated the growth of a new unique type of American literature. “American novelists were faced with a history of strife and revolution, a geography of vast wilderness and a fluid and relatively classless democratic society.” [19] American writers successful developed new “creative techniques.” [20] Early 19th century Americans writers were imaginative, creative, and perhaps unconventional when compared to their European counterparts. However, as a result of their innovative techniques, a new American style of writing successfully evolved.

[1] “The Romantic Period, Essayists and Poets” Telling America’s Story -U.S. Department of State. 21 July 2008. http://www.america.gov/st/arts-english/2008/April/20080429094758eaifas0.1172602.html [2] “The Romantic Period, Essayists and Poets” Telling America’s Story -U.S. Department of State. 21 July 2008. http://www.america.gov/st/arts-english/2008/April/20080429094758eaifas0.1172602.html [3] “The Romantic Period, 1820 to 1860. 21 July 2008. http://usa.useembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit3.htm [4] “The Romantic Period, 1820 to 1860. 21 July 2008. http://usa.useembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit3.htm [5] The Romantic Period, 1820 to 1860. 21 July 2008. http://usa.useembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit3.htm [6] The Romantic Period, 1820 to 1860. 21 July 2008. http://usa.useembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit3.htm [7] The Romantic Period, 1820 to 1860. 21 July 2008. http://usa.useembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit3.htm [8] Hawthorne, N. “The Blithedale Romance, 1852. 21 July 2008. http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/br01.html [9] Hawthorne, N. “The Blithedale Romance, 1852. 21 July 2008. http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/br01.html [10] “The Blithedale Romance” Wikipedia 6 July 2008. 21 July. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blithedale_Romance [11] Hawthorne, N. “The Blithedale Romance, 1852. 21 July 2008. http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/br01.html [12] The Romantic Period, 1820 to 1860. 21 July 2008. http://usa.useembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit3.htm [13] The Romantic Period, 1820 to 1860. 21 July 2008. http://usa.useembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit3.htm [14] Virtanen, K. “The Role of Philosophy and Literature in building up the National Identity of the early 19th century United States” 21 July 2008. http:// [|www.let.rug.nl/usa/E.identity/philos05.htm] [15] “Outline of American Literature” U.S. Info.State.Gov 21 July 2008. http:// usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/lit4.htm [16] DeSimone, D. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Feminization of Education” 21 July 2008. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejounals/old-Willa/fal95/DeSimone.html [17] “Outline of American Literature” U.S. Info.State.Gov 21 July 2008. http:// usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/lit4.htm [18] “Outline of American Literature” U.S. Info.State.Gov 21 July 2008. http:// usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/lit4.htm [19] “Outline of American Literature” U.S. Info.State.Gov 21 July 2008. http:// usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/lit4. [20] “Outline of American Literature” U.S. Info.State.Gov 21 July 2008. http:// usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/lit4.htm