The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1884-12-18
~ New View Of Margaret Fuller.

Rochester Union.
Nathaniel 'Hawthorne's analysis Of
Margaret Fuller Ossoi, 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:
Is" She had not the charm of woman.
hood. But she was a 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. 4. -.
q Margaret has not left in the
hearts and minds of those who knew he1
any deep: witness Of her integrity and
purity She was a great humbug-of
;cours e, with much talent and much
moral reality, or else she could never
havefbeen so: great q humbug. But she
had stuck herself full of borrowed
qualitiess which she had chosen to pro-
vide herself : WITH, but which had
not root ii her. SO. It was such an
awful joke that she should have resolved
s. in all sincerity, no doubt-to make
herself The 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 asplen-
did talent and there moral cellence.
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 WIS far more
o work Of art than any Of Mozier's stat
.utes. But she was not working on an
Illuminate substance, like marble or
clay there was Something within her
that she could not possibly come at. to
3recreate Or refine it; and by and by
this rude old potency bestirred itself
and undid all her labor in the twinkling
,of an eye. ~. II NV 5g.515
The last phrase. refers to her mar
Friage aud married life, There are
few n things in the whole biog-.
iraphY more interesting than the ia
Tiers keen eye analysis Of that strong
and brilliant woman, who was admired
by Emerson y and Charming and the
whole group of BOSTON Stranscendental-
lists! Of the Brook Farm period. Haw-
thorna's mind was less Influenced by
her personality than theirs, and none
iof them fead2 character with such fine
gdiscernment as he At the same, time,
he But gave ard efnite expression to a
misty impression concerning her that
was wide-spr z Margaret Fuller was
mot considered a lovable woman by some
sof the warhest admirers of her intel lect.
She ibewild ered them; but she did not
ibewilder Hawthorne His eye was al
ways clear md calm, and penetrated
all intervening mists: He may have
;magniie led defects sometimes from his
ideal stand point, butinot more. proba-
sbly, in Margaret Fulleris case than her
biologists magniied her merits. It is
certain that his Judgment was intelli-
gent and sincere, forshe was always sin
scere, and he did not write; the analysis
for the public eye, and he had known
her long and was i familiar with the
most sign fcant facts Of her life.