I read the piece from our binder tonight about Louisa May Alcott and found her satire of the Transcendental followers amusing. Sacrificing so much of human comfort in pursuit of following their own conscience while judging others so harshly made me think that she must have seen some of this in her life. I also thought that much of her feeling on women's rights came through in talking of the men dreamily surveying the landscape while the wife juggled the children, gathered in the crops, and other daily tasks. I loved the quote about the Transcendentalists having the "satisfaction of suffering for their principles" because it reminded me of some former neighbors who never seemed to feel comfortable unless they could piously tell everyone of their newest trial.
This story, "Transcendental Wild Oats", was a great companion piece to Thoreau's Walden Pond. It made me realize that there were those in his time who found much of what he said to be very heavy-handed and extreme. I wonder what views from out time will be seen in this way 200 years from now. Living on credit? Commercialism? Capitalism? Bigotry? Religion? Tattooing? What do you all think?
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I am with you exactly... instead of your neighbors telling of their problems it was my mom or family. Louisa is one our most important poets.
ReplyDeleteTranscendeltalism is alive and thriving
I am not as philosophical about it as you are, but I enjoyed reading this article. It gave me insight into how the transcendeltalists percieved things. I agree that Louisa was probably sharing her view on women's rights or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteI find Alcot's style and perspective very interesting. Her use of satire was clever and proved once again that women through the ages have had incredible minds. She can entertain an audience while asserting her feminist view points. She can preach her beliefs without offending her readers. She can pass judgement on others' beliefs without losing support. How clever she was.
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