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Biography
Fuller was a child prodigy, rigorously trained in the classics
and modern languages and literatures by her father, who was
associated with the Transcendentalist circle of Concord,
Massachusetts. She edited Emerson's magazine, The
Dial, from 1840 to 1842 and later, working as a literary
critic for the New York Tribune, became one of America's
first self-supporting woman journalists. Her Woman in
the Nineteenth Century (1845) made the argument that
both men and women were confined by the expectations of society;
it remains a seminal work on American feminism and sexual
liberation. Fuller traveled to Europe in 1846 as a foreign
correspondent for the Tribune; in Italy she became
involved with revolutionaries and with a nobleman, Giovanni
Angelo Ossoli. When she became pregnant in 1848, she attempted
to hide her situation from friends at home, but when Rome
fell to France in 1849, she fled to Florence with Ossoli,
whom she married, and their child. The family set sail for
the United States in 1850. All three died when their ship
sank in sight of Fire Island, New York.
Explorations
Fuller's The Great Lawsuit (1843) is not only a
landmark in the history of American feminist thought but
also a chance to see certain Emersonian premises develop
in directions which Emerson himself
may have not anticipated. It also shows us an important experiment
in political and philosophical discourse, a radical break
from forms that Emerson and other nineteenth-century male
essayists had championed, forms that they had inherited and
developed from New England Calvinist models.
1. In The Great Lawsuit, Fuller asks: "And will
not she soon appear? The woman who shall vindicate their
birthright for all women; who shall teach them what to
claim, and how to use what they obtain?" How had the literary
culture of Fuller's time made her hope more plausible?
Had Emersonian Transcendentalism created new obstacles
for Fuller's "new woman"?
2. Why does Fuller create Miranda and "the sorrowful
Trader" to dialogue with in The Great Lawsuit? What
literary and cultural echoes does Fuller evoke with this
strategy?
3. Compare Fuller's prose style to Emerson's or Thoreau's.
How does her kind of argumentation vary from theirs? Evaluate
its effectiveness in advancing her particular intentions.
Other sites to consult:
American
Transcendentalism: Sarah Margaret Fuller.
An extensive bibliography and study questions. From
the PAL: Perspectives in American Literature site
maintained by Paul P. Reuben (California State University,
Stanislaus).
"America's
First True Feminist". A detailed biography
of Fuller's life and work from the I Hear America
Singing PBS site. Includes a few excerpts from
her writings and links to background on the movements
and people she was involved with.
A
comprehensive bibliography on the history of feminism.
Look in the First Wave section for contextual materials
on Fuller. From the Women's Studies Program at Northern
Arizona University.
Timeline
of Legislation, Events, and Publications Crucial
to the Development of Victorian Feminism.
Useful historical context from The Victorian Web.
http://www-english.tamu.edu/fuller/: The Margaret
Fuller Society provides a bibliography, links, and a discussion
group.
http://www-english.tamu.edu/fuller/: An extensive biography
of Margaret Fuller.
http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/13/feb95/tuttle.htm: “Margaret
Fuller, American Minerva,” from The New Criterion.
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