Margaret Fuller, a Re-Mastering of Womanhood
Margaret Fuller, a Re-mastering of Womanhood
Margaret Fuller was a multifaceted woman who in reality did not fit into the period of which she was born. However, the obstacles and difficulties women faced during the 1800s, if they choose to be more than just a domestic worker, is exactly what shaped her into a prominent female figure. Margaret Fuller would go on to become an icon in the New England Transcendentalist movement, an editor of the first avant-garde intellectual magazine in America, an author and the first foreign correspondent, male or female, for an American newspaper.[1] Her achievements stemmed from her ability to reinvent herself to fit in with the prospects and changes that came her way. Margaret believed that more than one phase of character could be shown in one life time, often referring to herself as a “chameleon”, meaning that she had the capability of adapting to changes. In a world with limited opportunities for a woman she would break all the rules and prove to many that women could indeed overcome any obstacle.
Fuller’s childhood and education was unusual, but it would prepare her to take on the world as an adult. She was born May 23rd, 1810 as [Sarah] Margarett Fuller in Cambridge port, Massachusetts to Margarett Crane and Timothy Fuller who were married on May 28th, 1809. Her father Timothy marked the day of Margaret’s Birth by planting three majestic elm trees in front of their home.[2] She was named after her grandmother and mother; eventually the terminal “t” would be dropped off.[3] Timothy Fuller was a prominent lawyer and congressman, who graduated second in his class from Harvard University. He had also established a prosperous legal practice and could be described as brash, ambitious, stubborn and proud. (10) “He respected others according to what they could do.”[4] Margarett Crane was ten and a half years younger than Timothy when they met. She never had a tremendous amount of schooling as did her husband, it
Margaret Fuller was a multifaceted woman who in reality did not fit into the period of which she was born. However, the obstacles and difficulties women faced during the 1800s, if they choose to be more than just a domestic worker, is exactly what shaped her into a prominent female figure. Margaret Fuller would go on to become an icon in the New England Transcendentalist movement, an editor of the first avant-garde intellectual magazine in America, an author and the first foreign correspondent, male or female, for an American newspaper.[1] Her achievements stemmed from her ability to reinvent herself to fit in with the prospects and changes that came her way. Margaret believed that more than one phase of character could be shown in one life time, often referring to herself as a “chameleon”, meaning that she had the capability of adapting to changes. In a world with limited opportunities for a woman she would break all the rules and prove to many that women could indeed overcome any obstacle.
Fuller’s childhood and education was unusual, but it would prepare her to take on the world as an adult. She was born May 23rd, 1810 as [Sarah] Margarett Fuller in Cambridge port, Massachusetts to Margarett Crane and Timothy Fuller who were married on May 28th, 1809. Her father Timothy marked the day of Margaret’s Birth by planting three majestic elm trees in front of their home.[2] She was named after her grandmother and mother; eventually the terminal “t” would be dropped off.[3] Timothy Fuller was a prominent lawyer and congressman, who graduated second in his class from Harvard University. He had also established a prosperous legal practice and could be described as brash, ambitious, stubborn and proud. (10) “He respected others according to what they could do.”[4] Margarett Crane was ten and a half years younger than Timothy when they met. She never had a tremendous amount of schooling as did her husband, it