THE CORRESPONDENCE OF EMERSON AND CARLYLE

by Joseph L. Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 19, 1964

A new (and must) edition of the the classic Carlyle-Emerson correspondence. After the death of his first wife, the young Emerson journeyed to Europe for la vita nuova; he met the eremitical Carlyle, and surprisingly the two hit it off; returned to America and upon the subsequent publication of Sartor Resartus began the epistolary exchange. Running from 1834 to 1872, with varying interludes of silence, squabbles and conflicts, the letters are remarkable. Not so much for what they say about particular philosophical, political or literary problems (the portrait gallery's lively, the actual details dull), nor because the life-styles of the two men sum up the 19th century culture-clime, but rather because their personalities fill the pages like some sort of phenomena of nature: Carlyle the lighting, Emerson the tranquil stars. And thus the drama of contrasts, the almost ""fictional"" feel to the friendship, the slow growth of character revelations, the ""changes"" (at least on Emerson's part; first misty-penned, when simple and sharp, adhering at last to Carlyle's facts-first credo). Certainly they were an odd pair: a sardonic Germanophile with his fuhrerprinzip, Carlyle often hit Emerson where it hurt most. Yet through it all, their relationship, based on the highest ideals of individualism, seems genuine and great. How different the moderns! E.g., Kafka giggling continuously over his writing pad (such is the vision of the kingdom of terror), or James whose mind, as Eliot noted, was so refined as to be unviolated by ideas.

Pub Date: Oct. 19, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Columbia Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION