Nordic Influence on Emerson's Self-Reliance

Nordic Influence on Emerson's Self-Reliance. Elizabeth S. Scofield.  Hardbound, (2021) Illustrations, 200pp

This is the story of one woman’s quest to answer these questions: From where and whom did Ralph Waldo Emerson first learn about the Scandinavian Vikings? In the words of Andrew Wawn, “The most fundamental Viking-Age belief was self reliance.” If Ralph Waldo Emerson was exposed to the mythical stories and historical actions of the Scandinavian Vikings early in life, could that mean that the origin of his Self-Reliance doctrine expressed in his lectures and writings was a direct result of knowing about these Nordic stories as a child?

Elizabeth Scofield walks the reader through her 1993-2006 journey from the West Coast of the United States to Roskilde, Denmark, then to Cambridge, Massachusetts with the aim of answering these questions. Tracing evidence from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s published lectures, handwritten journal entries at Houghton Library, and marginalia discovered within the volumes of family books at the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, Ms. Scofield opens up new questions as to the possible true source of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s concept of Self-Reliance.

Book #: J-S1463

ISBN: 9781596414631

Also available in Softcover