# 428: BOOK OF THE WEEK — “Woman in the Nineteenth Century”
Story behind the Book Choice
I first read texts by Margaret Fuller in one of my undergrad proseminars in American Studies. That was in my first or second semester. It is hard to imagine, how long the path has been from then till now. Maybe it is good that we never know where our path is taking us, how long it is and how much strength we need in order to walk it. If we did know, we might never even take the first step. There are so many days when I ask myself why the hell I have ended up where I am right now. Then there are many days, even months, when there is no answer in sight. And then, all of a sudden, when there seems no optimism or strength left anymore, I clearly see that everything makes sense. I see who I am and I appreciate it. And I can feel that I even have strength left to walk the next mile.
Fuller was an outstanding intellectual and writer. Maybe I was drawn to her because, different from most other authors we read in literary studies, she was a journalist and she wrote like one. Very dense, very complex at times, but very much speaking about and to the world — not about some academic fantasy. Yes, there is always bitterness in me when I claim that scholarship is removed from the world. And I know that there is a reason why that has to be — to a certain extent. But I also have to accept that the sharing of intellectual talent can take many forms. And my form is the one that reaches out to the people; those who deserve to benefit from the thinking produced by those who get paid for reading and writing. And the public deserves to learn from the best thinkers of their age — not from some mediocre intellectual compromise.
Fuller wrote for and about the women of her time. They were the ones she wanted to liberate. After all, I think, all of us who are somehow engaged in intellectual work want to liberate people. Maybe that is only partially true. Maybe we want to liberate ourselves. But no writer, no thinker, can really do that. We are all locked up in our individual prisons. These prisons are lonely and dark most of the time. And when we write, we get to open the door a bit. Maybe we only get a glimpse through the window to see some sun. And the text we produce has that effect on the people who read what flows on paper. I am not sure if many women actually read Fuller’s writing at the time. But for sure, the women who read her works nowadays can still benefit from her far-reaching thoughts. She analyzed, she argued, and she acted as best as a writer and “activist” could. She was visible and she did not shut up.
- Outside organizations
This struggle has shaped my life so far. It has been addressed in numerous posts before. Now it appears, the question has tacitly been answered by my own decision to give up entrepreneurial independence in exchange for university affiliation. At least, this is the status quo. And it is only possible because of my inner independence — the insight and the fierce belief that my intellectual freedom cannot and will not be co-opted by institutional affiliation. There will be endless instances to come in which I will doubt this fact. Still, the experience that change cannot be triggered from outside, that institutions and the relevant positions therein facilitate impact, has been a deep and transforming one.
Still, obviously, it struck me very much what Fuller’s brother writes about her own independence here. As a writer and journalist, Fuller did work for many organizations and her political work did not take place based on “personal branding” either. She did join many of the Transcendentalist undertakings at the time. Yet, her organizational independence obviously was of importance to her. Otherwise, her brother would not have emphasized this aspect here. Obviously, as he explains, this decision derived from her strong determination to create impact, to bring about change and reform from no other but her very unique standpoint. This is something that I will continue doing, no matter where I work and who pays for me.
It takes half a lifetime to even be ready for this.
Nobody knows if it is going to work out.
I have to give it a try.
2. Intellectual companionship
“Union of employment” and “intellectual companionship” — I have been thinking about this issue since reading Sölle this summer. In her work “Loving and Working”, she also addressed the issue of pursuing a joint “project” as the glue between partners in a relationship. As Fuller also states, this might not be essential in the sense of a necessary requirement for a marriage to “work.” Still, I am coming to believe that it does no harm at all. To the contrary, I can see now how much it takes to really pursue a big vision and implement it day by day. It takes all your strength, all your energy, most of your waking hours. Having someone next to you who shares it and pursues it, maybe not in exactly the same field you are in but in a similar one with the same values — this is a tremendous, maybe even the only, help you can ask for.
Fuller herself had this companion in her husband who shared and supported her intellectual curiosity and the unfolding of her potential. Even more so, he supported her clear-sighted analysis of the situation of women in society and her approach to changing the status quo. She wrote for reform but what makes her special in my eyes, I think, is that she did not just write for women. She wrote in order to trigger a shift of mind in the American public, above all, in the minds of the elite that could make a difference when it came to making laws. Above all, it is no accident that the original essay was entitled “The Great Lawsuit.” In the end, inequality does not end with nice words and mind shifts. Inequality ends when laws are changed — when rights are guaranteed and protected on an everyday basis.
Man and woman/woman and woman/man and man fighting side by side for this cause and thereby loving each other to a higher level of personal unfolding is a gift of heaven which most of us might never have the chance to experience.
Hope is the last thing that dies with people.
3. Hasty writing
Fuller writes about George Sand here; a pseudonym for Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin de Francueil — a French writer. The way Fuller writes about her really leaves the reader with the impression that Sand was not at all outstanding. Still, there must have been a reason why Fuller cared about her. And she did so mostly by not only engaging with her writing but with her life. When following up on Sand’s life story, it becomes clear in how far she lived the idea of womanhood which Fuller envisioned — critical, independent, bold, full of love and tragedy. When skimming the entry on Sand’s life on Wikipedia yesterday, I could not even follow up on all the love liaisons she had. And you know what? It does not matter. All I learned from it is that she lived her life to the fullest — she gave herself to new lovers and she obviously kept believing in the fact that there is no reason to be afraid.
Loving hastily and writing hastily seemed to go hand in hand for her.
Maybe there is a middle path.
Maybe some of us write hastily
But they love very slowly.
If they decide to take the risk love brings about.
Reflection Questions
1) Do you think that most of the things women claimed in the 19th century have been achieved? Which ones not?
2) Do you believe that it benefits a marriage if both partners have the same profession or even work on the same professional project?
3) What does the way that people love and live relationships reveal about their work style?