"Let them be sea-captains, if you will", Margaret Fuller stated in her main work
Woman in the Nineteenth Century (Woman 346). Although even nowadays there may
be only few female sea-captains, the quoted statement would hardly provoke anyone, at least not someone in our contemporary western culture. However, when regarded in its historical context, two questions arise: Firstly, what underlying gender concept encouraged Fuller to make such a statement, in "a time of excessive gender polarization" (Bomarito (vol2) 1), a time in which the ideal of domesticity and Republican Motherhood (Freedman 25) determined the role of woman? And secondly, how did antebellum American society react to such statements? The first question will be the main issue of part III, the main part of my work. I will begin with Fuller's general gender concept that involves ideas of androgynity and the "degendering" (Davis 182) of language. Next, the major influences on her concept, namely those of transcendentalism (with special consideration of Emerson), Goethe, Fourier and Swedenborg will be dealt with. Lastly, I will consider how Fuller applied her concept to the specific fields outlined in chapter II, that is, marriage, education and
economy. I will concentrate on her main work Woman in the Nineteenth Century
because Fuller describes her gender concept there in most detail, whereas her other works such as Summer on the Lakes do not contribute much additional information that is of special significance for the understanding of her gender concept. This is especially true in the case of her Memoirs, which was heavily edited and censored by Emerson and others. It rather distorted Fuller's reputation, as Urbanski states (5). Therefore I will only occasionally refer to them, whenever they provide further information that is relevant to my topic.
Regarding the second question, I will illustrate the historical and cultural
background first against which Fuller placed her gender concept, in order to clarify why her "idea of woman" (W 305) was considered provoking and unconventional in antebellum America. I will deal with the traditional gender concept, along with its ideals such as femininity, Republican Motherhood and domesticity. Then, I will describe the effect this concept had on marriage, evangelical movements, education and economy, and also with what is considered the initiation of the first women's rights movement in America, the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.
Table of Contents
1. Primary Sources
2. Secondary Sources
I. Introduction
II. Overview of the Traditional Gender Concept in Antebellum America, Its Consequences for Women and Women’s Resistance
1. Emergence of the Separate Spheres Ideology
1.1 Beginning of Gender Polarization
1.2 Motherhood and Domesticity
1.3 Marriage
2. The Role of Women in Religious Movements During the First and Second Great Awakening
2.1 First and Second Great Awakening
2.2 Women’s Role in the Abolitionist Movement
2.3 Women’s Role in the Temperance Movement
3. Women, Education and Economy
3.1 Education
3.2 Economy
4. The Women’s Rights Movement
III. Fuller’s Gender Concept
1. Criticism of the Prevailing Gender Concept
2. Femininity, Masculinity and the “De-Gendering” of Language
3. The Concept of the Multidimensional and Androgynous Soul
4. Major Influences
4.1 Transcendentalism, Emerson and Religion
4.2 Goethe, Fourier and Swedenborg
5. Application of the Gender Concept
5.1 Fuller’s Marriage Ideal
5.2 Education
5.3 Economy
IV. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This work explores Margaret Fuller’s gender concept within the historical and cultural context of antebellum America, analyzing how she challenged the prevailing patriarchal ideologies of her time. The research examines how Fuller synthesized elements of Transcendentalism, German Idealism, and socialist theories to advocate for an androgynous, multidimensional self that transcends rigid gender roles.
- The historical and social constraints of the "separate spheres" ideology.
- Fuller’s deconstruction of traditional gender binaries and linguistic norms.
- The influence of Transcendentalism and European philosophy on Fuller’s thought.
- The application of Fuller’s concepts to marriage, education, and the workforce.
- The relationship between the individual and social progress in Fuller’s work.
Excerpt from the Book
3. The Concept of the Multidimensional and Androgynous Soul
What makes Fuller’s gender concept unique can therefore not be the deconstruction of traditional concepts of femininity / masculinity as such. But what made her concept unique then? Since Fuller did not regard gender as a social construct and therefore could not use such ideas to advocate equality of men and women, she had to find another solution. She focuses on the uniqueness of the individual:
But there should be encouragement, and a free genial atmosphere for those of more timid sort, fair play for each in its own kind. Some are like the little, delicate flowers which love to hide in the dripping mosses, by the sides of the mountain torrents, or in the shade of tall trees. But others require an open field, a rich and loosened soil, or they never show their proper hues.
She pleds for more tolerance and freedom and points to the fact that women are not just “women”, but individuals who differ considerably from each other. By stressing the uniqueness of the individual she implies that the difference between women may be as large as that between men and women in general. She argues that no person is actually by nature a man or woman who has all the characteristics associated with traditional masculinity or femininity:
Male and female represent the two sides of the great radical dualism. But, in fact, they are perpetually passing into one another. Fluid hardens to solid, solid rushes to fluid. There is no wholly masculine man, no purely feminine woman. History jeers at the attempts of physiologists to bind great original laws by the forms which flow from them. They make a rule; they say from observation, what can and cannot be. In vain! Nature provides exceptions to every rule. She sends women to battle, and sets Hercules spinning; she enables woman to bear immense burdens, cold, and frost; she enables the man, who feels maternal love, to nourish his infant like a mother. Of the late she plays still gayer pranks. Not only she deprives organizations, but organs, of a necessary end. She enables people to read with the top of the head, and see with the pit of the stomach. Presently she will make a female Newton, and a male Syren. Man partakes in the feminine of Apollo, woman in the masculine as Minerva.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: Outlines the research focus on Margaret Fuller’s gender concept, introducing the historical context and the primary work under investigation, Woman in the Nineteenth Century.
II. Overview of the Traditional Gender Concept in Antebellum America, Its Consequences for Women and Women’s Resistance: Details the development of separate spheres, the impact of religious and social movements, and the emergence of early women's rights advocacy.
III. Fuller’s Gender Concept: Examines Fuller’s critique of existing norms, her focus on the androgynous soul, major intellectual influences, and the practical application of her theories to marriage, education, and economy.
IV. Conclusion: Summarizes the radical nature of Fuller’s thought, contrasting it with the traditional gender binary and highlighting her legacy as a precursor to modern gender discourse.
Keywords
Margaret Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, Gender Studies, Transcendentalism, Separate Spheres, Androgyny, Antebellum America, Femininity, Masculinity, Self-reliance, Social Reform, Seneca Falls, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Individualism, Women's Rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic work?
The work examines Margaret Fuller’s concept of gender and how she sought to challenge and redefine the restrictive roles assigned to women in antebellum America.
What are the central thematic fields discussed?
The main themes include the ideology of separate spheres, the role of women in religious and reform movements, the impact of Transcendentalism, and the historical limitations on female education and economic participation.
What is the core objective or research question?
The central objective is to determine what underlying gender concept influenced Fuller’s unconventional statements and how her contemporary society reacted to her challenges regarding established gender norms.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author uses methods from Gender Studies and New Historicism to analyze historical discourse, individual and social identity, and the contextual meaning of Fuller’s primary texts.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body investigates the historical backdrop of the 19th-century "woman question," analyzes Fuller’s specific gender theories (such as the androgynous soul), and explores how she applied these ideas to marriage, education, and social roles.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include Margaret Fuller, Transcendentalism, Gender Studies, Antebellum America, and the concept of the androgynous soul.
How does Fuller’s concept of the "androgynous soul" challenge 19th-century norms?
Fuller argues that neither "masculine" nor "feminine" traits are exclusive to one sex; rather, every individual possesses both. By internalizing these opposites, she sought to dissolve the rigid antagonism between the sexes.
What is the significance of the "Muse-Minerva" concept in Fuller's work?
Fuller uses the Muse to represent the intuitive, "feminine" aspect and Minerva to represent the intellectual, "masculine" aspect of the soul, suggesting that women need to reclaim their Minerva-side to achieve independence and authority.
Why does the author place such emphasis on the "wife-slave" analogy?
The author highlights this analogy to demonstrate how Fuller used the inflammatory comparison between the legal status of married women and slaves to draw public attention to the systemic injustices of patriarchy.
- Quote paper
- M. A. Oliver Steinert-Lieschied (Author), 2007, Margaret Fuller's Concept of “Gender” in the context of her time, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/113451
