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Chapter 18 - Child/Thoreau

from Part III - Authors and Figures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2022

Justine S. Murison
Affiliation:
University of Illinois
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Summary

This essay reads Lydia Maria Child and Henry David Thoreau against the grain of the usual literary taxonomies in order to consider the degree to which two key preoccupations animated their respective work: first, What constitutes a good life and how might people of limited or moderate means achieve it within a volatile and unforgiving US economy? And, second, How might individuals conceive of and act on their responsibilities to suffering others, especially enslaved Americans, and what should one’s disposition be toward injustice more generally? With attention to their overlapping inquiries into frugality, self-improvement, economic instability, and social injustice, I argue that Child and Thoreau are crucial authors for understanding both the mid-nineteenth and the early twenty-first centuries.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Child/Thoreau
  • Edited by Justine S. Murison, University of Illinois
  • Book: American Literature in Transition, 1820–1860
  • Online publication: 09 June 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108566872.022
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  • Child/Thoreau
  • Edited by Justine S. Murison, University of Illinois
  • Book: American Literature in Transition, 1820–1860
  • Online publication: 09 June 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108566872.022
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Child/Thoreau
  • Edited by Justine S. Murison, University of Illinois
  • Book: American Literature in Transition, 1820–1860
  • Online publication: 09 June 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108566872.022
Available formats
×