Margaret Fuller

Essay by MccaddenSucksUniversity, Bachelor's August 2004

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By Lee A. Zito

I was fascinated upon reading about Margaret Fuller's biography. Her writing was even more fascinating. The fact that she was such a prodigy child in the early 1800's if remarkable, because society was not primarily concerned with the education of women. Yet, her father felt the need to bring her up as an intellectual woman. Fuller, however, does not describe her education as something she enjoyed so much.

As I read Fuller's thoughts on her education, more and more it became clear to me for her adult choicces. As a child Fuller was always working and studying. She felt completely and intellectually exhausted at night. She also suffered from frequent head aches, weakness, nightmares, and illusions. As Fuller states, her "nerves were unaturally stimulated". This could have been the result of her father's persistant attitude to her education. She mentions that her father had absolutely no patience and was very demanding.

When it came to her education, I'm sure there was no exception.

One occurrence that struck me was when Fuller was describing her emotions while reading. She first described her interest and joy, but then she finds herself crying. The idea she presents is that she as an adult, realizes that experience as a child was her desire to live the adventure within the stories she was reading. It was emotionally stirring to think that she held on to her childhood desires amidst her father's intellectually force education.

When you place Fuller's childhood next to her adulthood, it is no wonder she found herself involved in so much fast paced adventure. As a woman she traveled overseas to Europe, where she wrote for the American magazing The Dial. There she met up with George Sands who opened her up to sexual freedom and the...