Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-12-19
A New View Of Margaret Fuller.

Rochester Union.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's analysis OF
Margaret Fuller Ossoli, as given in the
recently published biography by his
son, will surprise many. It was written
after she was dead, and while Mr.. Haw-
thorne was in Rome, where he came
across some unpleasant facts regarding
her marriage. He said:
.t'She had not the charm of woman.
hood. But she was person anxious to
try all things and fill up her experience
in all directions; she had strong and
coarse nature, which she had done her
utmost to refine, with infinite pains;
but of course, it could be only super
fcially changed.
Margaret has not left in the
hearts andminds of those who knew hel
any deep witness of her integrity and
purity. She was great humbug-of
course, with much talent and much
moral reality, or else she could never
have been SO great humbug. But she
had stuck herself full of borrowed
qualities, which she had chosen to pro-
vide herself with, but which had
not root in her. .. It Was such an
awful joke that she should have resolved
in all sincerity, no doubt-to make
herself tue greatest, wisest, best woman
of the age, and to that end she set to
work on her strong, heavy, unpliable,
and, in many respects, defective and
evil nature, and adorned it with mo-
sale of admirable qualities, such as she
chose to possess, putting in here splen-
did talent and there moral excellence.
and polishing each separate piece, and
the whole together, until it seemed to
shine afar and dazzle all who saw it.
She took credit to herself OF having
been her own redeemer. if not her own
creator; and indeed, she was far more
a work Of art than any of Mozier's stat
utes. But she was not working on an
inanimate substance, like marble or
clay; there was something within her
that she could not possibly come at, to
recreate or refine it; and by and by
this rude old potency bestirred itself
and undid all her labor in the twinkling
Of an eye."
The last phrase refers to her mar
rage and married life. There are
few things in the whole biog-
raphy more interesting than the IA
theirs keen eye analysis Of that strong
and brilliant woman, who was admired
by Emerson and Charming and the
whole group OF Boston transcendental-
lists of the Brook Farm period. Haw-,
thorne's mind was less influenced by
her personality than theirs, and none
of them read character with such fine
discernment as he At the same time,
he but gave definite expression to a
misty impression concerning her that
was widespread. Margaret Fuller was
not considered q lovable woman by some
of the warmest admirers Of her intellect.
She bewildered them; but she did not
bewilder Hawthorne. His eye was al
ways clear and calm, and penetrated
all intervening naists. He may have
magniied defects sometimes from his
ideal standpoint, but not more, proba-
bly,, in Margaret Fuller's case than her
eulogists magnifed her merits. It is
certain that his Judgment was. intelli-
gent and sincere, for he was always sim
cere, and he did not write the analysis
for the public eye, and he had known
her long and was familiar with the
most significant facts Of her life. $: b
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