The Lives of Margaret Fuller

This book about the first American woman to write about and bring to national attention the rights and independence of women in America is one of the most inward looking biographies on the market. Fuller, throughout her life but especially before going to Europe as the first foreign correspondent for a newspaper, wrote constantly about her inner thoughts and feelings. Matteson uses these writings extensively and, while the constant self-analysis can seem somewhat redundant after a time to the reader, those writings reflect accurately the life of this brilliant, unconventional and innovative person.

The book for me hit three main facts about Fuller. First, as mentioned, was how much she lived her life in her head. Among other reasons, Matteson traces this tendency to a father who wanted and trained his daughter to be what we would call today an intellectual and to the heavy influence of the Transcendentalists, especially Emerson, in her life. Second was Fullers remarkable ability to put into words her insights into the institutionalized oppression of women. Her essay The Great Lawsuit and subsequent book, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, though both are filled with language and references those less educated in her time would not understand, were revolutionary in their time. Fuller deserves much more credit than she has gotten for opening the door to ideas that would eventually change the face of America. Third, the last part of the book is about a series of experiences that changed Fullers life completely. Her presence in Italy during the 1848 revolutions and then the counterrevolutions, her work in hospitals for the injured in battle, and her child and marriage show developing aspects of Fullers personality that were tragically cut short by her death at sea in 1850 (200 yards from the shore of Fire Island) when she was only 40 years old. This last part of the book is a completely different reading experience. If the first 70% spends a great deal of time inside Fullers thoughts, the last 30% combines a series of powerful real-life experiences with her more mature thought processes and shows us a whole different angle on Fuller.

Mattesons book has a great deal of psychological analysis in it but all of Mattesons analysis is consistently tied down to Fullers letters and journals. This is the story of a unique human being, complete with the strengths and weaknesses of her thoughts and actions. I recommend the book as an insightful portrait of Margaret Fuller.

John Matteson is one of my favorite authors. He invites you to climb into his biographies and live inside them. Sir Walter Scott once wrote, “The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon.” The misery of reading a book by John Matteson is that eventually it must end.

Although many reviewers lean towards synopsizing the content of the book in question, I would feel blasphemous doing that with “The Lives of Margaret Fuller,” for nobody could summarize this woman and her life/lives better than the author himself.

I knew very little about Margaret Fuller before reading this account, and I will admit that I did not entertain especially kind thoughts about her. My judgments were based on observations by her contemporaries and on snatches of her own jumbled, self-absorbed writing. Since reading Matteson’s book, my perspective has changed.

In this meticulously researched biography–and his research alone is worthy of immense praise–Matteson opens the curtains that had veiled his subject. Neither Fuller’s flaws nor her discomforts escape the light of truth that he shines upon her. His observations are discerning, astute, and uncannily perceptive. Even though he peers so intimately at her persona, Matteson avoids slipping into the traps of judgment, gossip, idolatry, or unfounded speculation, which is difficult for a biographer to do.

One senses that he is deeply in love (but not blindly so) with his subjects. Margaret Fuller was not a particularly loveable person, but because of Matteson’s warmth, as well as his objectivity, she became as real to me as a friend with whom I’ve spent many long hours.

I did feel a bit bogged down in the section about Italy. There was much more detail about the politics in Italy during that time period than I care to know. Despite my lack of interest, this was pertinent to one segment of Fuller’s life, and necessary, I suppose, to include in the biography. The book is still deserving of a five-star rating.

Beyond learning about the events and essence of this complex, fascinating woman, the joy of reading “The Lives of Margaret Fuller” was the unsurpassed way John Matteson fashions his sentences and words. He is brilliant. I marvel at his many gifts, and look forward to his next book.

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