The Emerson Museum

After the death of his wife in 1832, Ralph Emerson made a decision to pursue "wholeness". This book reveals how he went about achieving this, and how he conceived a uniquely American literary practice. Central to his project were the aims and methods of natural science. The book describes how Emerso [...]
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After the death of his wife in 1832, Ralph Emerson made a decision to pursue "wholeness". This book reveals how he went about achieving this, and how he conceived a uniquely American literary practice. Central to his project were the aims and methods of natural science. The book describes how Emerson used these scientific techniques to integrate a disparate, constantly enlarging field of subject matter, to reconceive himself as an institution of private research and public presentation, not unlike the museum itself. He methodically gathered specimens from the exotic frontiers of experience, and set them out on common ground. The book aims to show how this undertaking transformed the legacy of European romanticism into a writting project answerable to American urgencies. The author identifies the evolution of this approach and the emergence of wholeness as a national literary project.