Chapter Chapter 4 of Index by Simonds History of American Literature

Margaret Fuller, 1810-50.

Margaret Fuller, perhaps, commands more of interest than any other figure in the transcendental group. A brilliant intellect marred by a somewhat morbid egotism characterized her literary work; she shared in the erratic tendencies of her associates, but surpassed most of them in critical ability and to a certain extent in literary expression. Like Alcott, Margaret Fuller conducted "conversations" -- for the benefit of Boston ladies. She was prominent in the transcendental circle at Concord, and was warmly esteemed by Emerson. A frequent visitor at Brook Farm, Margaret Fuller is assumed to be the original of Zenobia in Hawthorne's Blithedale Romance. She, too, experienced the practical friendliness of Horace Greeley, and in 1844, became the literary critic on the Tribune. Devoted to philanthropy and reform, she was the friend of the Italian patriot Mazzini. In 1847, she visited Italy, and during her residence there was secretly and romantically married to the Marquis Ossoli. In 1850, the pair determined to come to America, and, with their infant son, set sail from Leghorn. Within sight of the American coast their vessel encountered a severe storm and was wrecked. The entire family perished. It is undoubtedly to this tragic event that the general interest in the personality of Margaret Fuller is in part due; but her place in american literary history is deserved. The most important of her works are Woman in the Nineteenth Century (1844) and Papers on Literature and Art (1846).¹