Due to her misrepresentation in literary circles, it is wise to look at biographical representations of the visionary feminist with a grain of salt. However, Joan von Mehren’s comprehensive biography Minerva and the Muse: A Life of Margaret Fuller is more than worthy to serve as the ideal representation of her due to its careful reports of the details of her life from birth to death and its exclusion of authorial bias towards or against Fuller.
The biography itself was relatively easy to find. During the initial stage of the research process, the authors perused the library in search of worthy texts. After the area containing the biographies and letters of Margaret Fuller was found on the second floor, checks of the biographies were made. Minerva and the Muse was remarkable on sight, being one of the larger books in the collection by a comfortable margin.
Upon a cursory glance, it was found to contain an incredible amount of detail about every aspect of Margaret Fuller’s life, revealing the author Joan von Mehren’s careful and comprehensive research. After the astounding amount of information warranted a second glance, the authors found a remarkable work that, while somewhat dry, is a strong and unbiased interpretation of the life of Margaret Fuller. There are a multitude of reasons why von Mehren’s text is a paragon of authenticity and skilled research.
Brevity and lighthearted, entertaining prose are sacrificed for painstaking accuracy and an unbiased, scholarly perspective. Because it disregards the sensationalism that can be apparent when writing about such dynamic figures as Fuller, the dry text reports the events of Fuller’s life as meticulously and comprehensively as is possible, providing both the most intimate details of her life and the sweeping events that changed her world significantly.
The Essay on Margaret Fuller Life Sarah Ossoli
Margaret Fuller: Bluestocking, Romantic, Revolutionary by: Ellen Wilson 1810-1850 Published by William E. Wilson Copyright 1977 Ryerson Ltd... , Toronto, 1977 Sarah Margaret Fuller lived an extremely detailed life. She experienced many difficult occurrences that would have made many think life too difficult. But, no matter how many events made her feel like a failure and never improved, Margaret ...
The book does not shy away from her flaws as both a headstrong adolescent and a powerful, self-assured woman, such as her insecurity in dealing with intimate relationships and her sometimes rude, haughty demeanor when dealing with others as an adolescent. However, due to the candid reporting of her problems, her virtues are given room to shine all the brighter, and the book never fails to reveal the amazing intelligence which drove her to become a prominent writer of her time. The perception of von Mehren’s biography as an exemplary work is shared by many reviewers and scholars.
Villanova University Library’s website offered several reviews from the American Library Association that claimed Minerva and the Muse is “a praiseworthy addition to the booming field of Fuller scholarship” that “captures Fuller’s individual character and the progress of her life”. Furthermore, Susan Belasco Smith also confirms the superiority of von Mehren’s work, claiming “Von Mehren’s book is structured around a series of oppositions, with what she regards as the essential dualism that Fuller experienced as a woman in the nineteenth century”.
Von Mehren does an excellent job of depicting Fuller as promoting a series of social progressions and developments intended to encourage women to “balance their under-developed Minerva- like powers of reason and analysis with their overly-developed Muse-like qualities of intuition and divination” (Smith).
In order to prove that von Mehren provides an unbiased representation of Fuller that represents her flaws as well as her virtues, a look at the author’s report of Fuller’s adolescent years is required.
When Fuller was twelve years old, she “[showed] signs of adolescent willfulness and tactlessness” which alienated her contemporaries and earned her few friends. When she had to transfer to school that would allow her to work at a slower pace (she had troubles due to poor eyesight), she was given permission to throw a party in order to “cement her school friendships”. She set the date for January 15th, 1823 and sent ninety invitations in anticipation of a wonderful ball. However, on January 12th, only “had a handful of acceptances”, resulting in a dismal and lonely party.
Teen Suicide One Adolescent People
'Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.' ; I feel that it isn't the right solution, that there are other options. This is one reason why I chose teen suicide as my I-search topic. I have had personal experience with teen suicide involving my friends, and the next time that one of my friends comes to me saying, '; I want to die.' ; I want to be able to understand where they are ...
One of the reasons for the low turnout was a bout of bad weather- however, the primary cause of the party’s failure was Margaret’s arrogant and rude behavior by “playing up to her Boston schoolmates to the indignation of the little world of Cambridge”, her blatant favoritism making her a social pariah (von Mehren 20).
This unflinching report of Fuller’s time as an inconsiderate, unpleasant girl and the consequences of her actions clearly depicts von Mehren’s incredible attention to detail and lack of noticeable authorial bias.
