Emerson & Eros : the making of a cultural hero / Len Gougeon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gougeon, Len.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Literature and myth.

Authors, American--19th century--Biography.

Authors, American.

Transcendentalists (New England)--Biography.

Transcendentalists (New England).

Social reformers--United States--Biography.

Social reformers.

United States--Intellectual life--19th century.

United States.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882--Philosophy.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882--Knowledge and learning.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882--Influence.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (280 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Emerson and Eros

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This critical biography traces the spiritual, psychological, and intellectual growth of one of America's foremost oracles and prophets, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882). Beginning with his undergraduate career at Harvard and spanning the range of his adult life, the book examines the complex, often painful emotional journey inward that would eventually transform Emerson from an average Unitarian minister into one of the century's most formidable intellectual figures. By connecting Emerson's inner life with his outer life, Len Gougeon illustrates a virtually seamless relationship between Emerson's Transcendental philosophy and his later career as a social reformer, a rebel who sought to "unsettle all things" in an effort to redeem his society.In tracing the path of Emerson's evolution, Gougeon makes use of insights by Joseph Campbell, Erich Neumann, Mircea Eliade, and N. O. Brown. Like Emerson, all of these thinkers directly experienced the fragmentation and dehumanization of the Western world, and all were influenced both directly and indirectly by Emerson and his philosophy. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how Emerson's philosophy would become a major force of liberal reformation in American society, a force whose impact is still felt today.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Psychomythic Humanism

The Spirit and the Flesh

“God’s Child”

“The Devil’s Child”

The Call to Serve

Epilogue

Notes

Works Cited

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-253) and index.

ISBN:

9780791480182

0791480186

9781429498210

1429498218

OCLC:

173152429