Independence：Guarantee to Emerson’s Individualism

Jiang Jingxin

【Abstract】Emerson established a systematic philosophy of individualism at his early stage.The basic three elements of individualism described in Emerson's works are：freedom，self-identity and independence to others.Independence，serves as the guarantee to the realization of individualism.

【Key words】Emerson； individualism； independence

Emerson's philosophy，especially his individualism in his early days，brought in enlightenment to American in a time of philosophically confusion and depression.No wander Kazin states that Emerson is the“father of us all”—“the teacher of the American tribe”.Emerson's influence has been so extensive that his works have been continuously reviewed till today.For Denis Donoghue and Joel Porte，Emerson remains the “founding father of nearly everything in the modern world”； especially his individualism which consists of “the sentiments of power，self-reliance，subjectivity，and independence” attracts to them “a distinctly American nuance”.Individualism runs through all Emersons works.In his works，not only did he emphasize the profound meaning and contents of Individualism，but also strongly suggest the realization of it，and “Independence” is undoubtedly serving as the guarantee.

Emerson's view leaves no room for the individual's relationship to other people.In Self-Reliance，Emerson spells out very clearly what the individual's attitude must be toward other people.He must elevate himself above the demands of the surroundings outside himself.“Friend，client，child，sickness，fear，want，charity，all knock at once at thy closet door and say，--'come out unto us'.” But，“keep thy state； come not into their confusion”.Emerson makes no exceptions for close relatives，“I shun father and mother and wife and brother when my genius calls.” But how should the individual deal with their pain caused by his indifference？ Emerson answers clearly，“I cannot sell my liberty and my power，to save their sensibility.” In Experience，he warns that other people will drown the individual if he gives them“so mush as a leg of a finger”of sympathy：“The great and crescive self，rooted in absolute nature，supplants all relatives existence and ruins the kingdom of mortal friendship and love.”

Emerson deals with the other people and everything else that is outside the individual in the same way.Other people have no existence，no substance，except as they are absorbed into or made use of by the self.In his Lecture on the Times（1841），Emerson explicitly tells his audience that nothing is real but the self.“All men，all things...are phantasms and unreal beside the sanctuary of the heart.” The Transcendentalist，a lecture given in the same decade，asserts that the “mind is the only reality”； other people are only reflectors.And in a later essay，Culture（1851），Emerson exemplifies to us the function of those “inflectors”：

I must have children，I must have events，I must have a social state and history，or my thinking and speaking want body or basis.But to give these accessories any value，I must know them as contingent and rather showy possessions，which pass for more to the people than to me.

Emerson never treats other people as though they had any value in their own right.They are important，he remarks in his Society and Solitude lectures，only because they can provide inspiration and fire the individual to performance.All acquaintances，even friends，are principally valuable for the way in which they can serve the self.For example，the individual can absorb and use the friend's knowledge and wisdom，making it his own.In Nature，he maintains that a friend should be absorbed until he becomes an “object of thought”.

At times，Emerson may warn against self-love and urge concern for others，but it is only to point out the importance of other people for the self.In Representative Men，he admonishes that“We must not contend against love”or denies the existence of other people，but the reason he offers，is that other people can act as a reflection of the self.“Other men are lenses through which we read our own minds.”Thus，the core of Emerson's philosophy is the absolute self，since other people are only extensions of him and everything will come back to the self.However，after the death of his little Waldo on January 27，1842，he showed more acquiescence in the state of things in his later works，less relation on self，greater respect for society，and awareness of the ambiguities and incompleteness of genius.

Emerson himself lives to his own principle of an "ideal man".As an individual，“he had obtained recognition such as no other of his countryman can claim.” While F.O.Matthiessen would call that epoch “the American Renaissance”，Lewis Mumford accordingly states “the central figure of them all，was Ralph Waldo Emerson.” In fact，Emerson，with his individualism，had cleared up the sky for the newly independent nation at the beginning of the nineteenth century，when they eagerly searched for a rejuvenated sense of personal inspiration and self-identity.

Reference：

[1]Black，Walter Jr.ed.The Best of Ralph Waldo Emerson： Essays，Poems，Addresses.New York：the Classics club，1941.

[2]Byington，Juliet.ed.Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism， Vol.98.Kansas City：Gale Research Company，1995：1-138.

[3]Callan，Don.William Carlos Williams and Transcendentalism.London：Macmillan Academic and Professional Ltd，1992：16-23.

[4]Cerrito，Joann.ed.Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism，Vol.38.Kansas City：Gale Research Company，1993：208-213.

[5]Harris，L.Lanzen.ed.Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism， Vol.1.Kansas City：Gale Research Company，1985：291-299.

http：//www.emersoncentral.com/texts.htm.

http：//www.online-literature.com/emerson/.

http：//www.transcendentalists.com/1emerson.html.

[6]Myerson，Joel.ed.Emerson and Thoreau：the Contemporary Reviews.Cambridge University Press，1992.

[7]Spiller，Robert.ed.The collected works of Ralph Waldo Emerson， et al.4 vols.Cambridge，Mass：Harvard University Press.1971.

作者簡介：

江晶鑫，女，重慶人，1982年4月，漢族，西南大學碩士，講師，研究方向：英美文學，課程與教學論。