Transfiguring America: Myth, Ideology, and Mourning in Margaret Fuller's Writing (Volume 1)

__Transfiguring America__ is the product of more than ten years of research and numerous published articles on Margaret Fuller, arguably America's first feminist theorist and one of the most important woman writers in the nineteenth century. Focusing on Fuller's development of a powerful language that paired cultural critique with mythmaking, Steele shows why her writing had such a vital impact on the woman's rights movement and modern conceptions of gender. This groundbreaking study pays special attention to the ways in which Fuller's feminist consciousness and social theory emerged out of her mourning for herself and others, her dialogue with Emersonian Transcendentalism, and her eclectic reading in occult and mythical sources. __Transfiguring America__ is the first book to provide detailed analyses of all of Fuller's major texts, including her mystical __Dial__ essays, correspondence with Emerson, __Summer on the Lakes,__ 1844 poetry, __Woman in the Nineteenth Century,__ and __New York Tribune__ essays written both in New York and Europe. Starting from her own profound sense of loss as a marginalized woman, Fuller eventually recognized the ways in which the foundational myths of American society, buttressed by conservative religious ideologies, replicated dysfunctional images of manhood and womanhood. With __Woman in the Nineteenth Century,__ after exploring the roots of oppression in her essays and poetry, Fuller advanced the cause of woman's rights by conceptualizing a more fluid and equitable model of gender founded upon the mythical reconfiguration of human potential. But as her horizons expanded, Fuller demanded not only political equality for women, but also emotional, intellectual, and spiritual freedom for all victims of social oppression. By the end of her career, Steele shows, Fuller had blended personal experience and cultural critique into the imaginative reconstruction of American society. Beginning with a fervent belief in personal reform, she ended her career with the apocalyptic conviction that the dominant myths both of selfhood and national identity must be transfigured. Out of the ashes of personal turmoil and political revolution, she looked for the phoenix of a revitalized society founded upon the ideal of political justice.

Transfiguring America is the product of more than ten years of research and numerous published articles on Margaret Fuller, arguably America's first feminist theorist and one of the most important woman writers in the nineteenth century. Focusing on Fuller's development of a powerful language that paired cultural critique with mythmaking, Steele shows why her writing had such a vital impact on the woman's rights movement and modern conceptions of gender.

This groundbreaking study pays special attention to the ways in which Fuller's feminist consciousness and social theory emerged out of her mourning for herself and others, her dialogue with Emersonian Transcendentalism, and her eclectic reading in occult and mythical sources. Transfiguring America is the first book to provide detailed analyses of all of Fuller's major texts, including her mystical Dial essays, correspondence with Emerson, Summer on the Lakes, 1844 poetry, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, and New York Tribune essays written both in New York and Europe.

Starting from her own profound sense of loss as a marginalized woman, Fuller eventually recognized the ways in which the foundational myths of American society, buttressed by conservative religious ideologies, replicated dysfunctional images of manhood and womanhood. With Woman in the Nineteenth Century, after exploring the roots of oppression in her essays and poetry, Fuller advanced the cause of woman's rights by conceptualizing a more fluid and equitable model of gender founded upon the mythical reconfiguration of human potential. But as her horizons expanded, Fuller demanded not only political equality for women, but also emotional, intellectual, and spiritual freedom for all victims of social oppression.

By the end of her career, Steele shows, Fuller had blended personal experience and cultural critique into the imaginative reconstruction of American society. Beginning with a fervent belief in personal reform, she ended her career with the apocalyptic conviction that the dominant myths both of selfhood and national identity must be transfigured. Out of the ashes of personal turmoil and political revolution, she looked for the phoenix of a revitalized society founded upon the ideal of political justice.

Transfiguring America is the product of more than eight years of research and numerous published articles on Margaret Fuller, arguably one of nineteenth-century America's most ardent feminists. Focusing on Fuller's development of a powerful language of cultural critique and mythmaking in the years immediately preceding her famous book Woman in the Nineteenth Century, Steele shows why Fuller had such a profound impact on the women's rights movement and modern conceptions of female identity.Following a strict upbringing and severe tutelage by her father, Fuller went on to make a life as a writer, teacher, and champion for women's rights and equality. She formed many important relationships, most notably with Ralph Waldo Emerson. While Emerson taught Fuller a great deal, including the way to an "inner life", he fell short, as her father had done. But her spiritual struggles with her upbringing and relationships led to her continued intellectual maturity.Fuller demanded not only political equality for women, but also emotional, intellectual, and spiritual freedom. With Woman in the Nineteenth Century, she advanced the cause of women's rights, urging women to find independence from the roles society had imposed upon them, in the home and with the family. She also promoted legal reform to end inequalities to women and spoke frankly on issues of marriage and relationships. While it shocked many, the first edition of the book sold out within a week in 1845 and sparked serious debate.In Transfiguring America, Steele takes an in-depth look at Fuller's philosophy before this famous book, and how it makes her an important contributor to theoretical debates. He points out that Fuller'spersonal experiences and her cultural critiques are, in fact, the heart of her distinctive and highly influential writing. This book is further evidence that in addition to her role as one of nineteenth-century America's most powerful critics, Margaret Fuller occupies a central role in contemporary scholarship and theory. "Transfiguring America is the product of more than ten years of research and numerous published articles on Margaret Fuller, arguably America's first feminist theorist and one of the most important woman writers in the nineteenth century. Focusing on Fuller's development of a powerful language that paired cultural critique with mythmaking, Steele shows why her writing had such a vital impact on the woman's rights movement and modern conceptions of gender.". "This study pays special attention to the ways in which Fuller's feminist consciousness and social theory emerged out of her mourning for herself and others, her dialogue with Emersonian Transcendentalism, and her eclectic reading in occult and mythical sources. Transfiguring America is the first book to provide detailed analyses of all of Fuller's major texts, including her mystical Dial essays, correspondence with Emerson, Summer on the Lakes, 1844 poetry, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, and New York Tribune essays written both in New York and Europe."--BOOK JACKET. Contents 8 Preface 10 Introduction: Idolatry, Mourning, and Ideology 16 1 Escaping from Rome: Ideological Resistance and Mythmaking in the “Autobiographical Romance” 40 2 Visions of (Di)Anna: Finding “the Oracle in Woman” 62 3 Lunar Flowers: Exploring the Divine Feminine 80 4 Pursuing “Leila”: The Languages of the Goddess 98 5 Creating Harmony: Psychological Mythmaking in “The Great Lawsuit” 120 6 Charting Disharmony: The Flawed Literary Personae of Summer on the Lakes 150 7 Soul “Swathed in Body”: Grief, Rebirth, and Transformation in the 1844 Poetry 182 8 Saving Iphigenia: The Cultural Work of Woman in the Nineteenth Century 224 9 Re-Forming the Social Body: Molding Public Attention in New York 243 10 Phoenix Rising: The Transfiguration of Italy (and America) 277 Bibliography 310 Index 326 A 326 B 326 C 327 D 328 E 328 F 329 G 335 H 336 I 336 J 337 K 337 L 337 M 337 N 339 O 340 P 340 Q 342 R 342 S 343 T 344 U 344 V 344 W 344 Y 345 Z 345 Arguably one of 19th-century America's most ardent feminists, this work focuses on Margaret Fuller's development of a powerful language of cultural critique and myth-making in the years preceding her famous book ""Woman in the Nineteenth Century"".