LITR 4232: American Renaissance
University of Houston-Clear Lake
Student Presentation, spring 2001

Reader: Joni Thrasher

Respondent: Charley Bevil

27 March 2001

"Ellen Learning to Walk" and "Lines"

Location: The Heath Anthology of American Literature, 3^rd ed., v.1, 2708-9, 2715-6.

Author: Frances Osgood

My presentation features selected poems of Frances Sargent Locke Osgood, who lived from 1811-1850. I am applying Objective 3 to the study of her writings.

My research resulted in very little information on Osgood. On the internet, I found a long list of websites that discussed the possibility of her having had an affair with Poe. However, I found a very short list of sites that feature her poetry or her life. This is a good example of Objective 3—using "literature as a basis for discussing representative problems of American culture" (handout). Historically, women have often been viewed in terms of "who they’re with," not what they do. Regardless of what the internet offers, the truth is that her poetry is much more interesting than the idea of her affair with Poe.

Osgood successfully wrote popular and serious poetry, and she was able to support her family by writing. As the introduction points out, in spite of her popularity, no book-length biography has been written about her, nor is there a "complete collection of her poems" (2708).

            Another part of Objective 3 is "the writer’s conflicted presence in an anti-intellectual society" (Handout). Osgood possibly fits this description as well. She was capable of producing intellectual poetry, as seen in her then-unpublished salon poems, but the works she had published were popular, less intellectual works. She is best known for her "Poetry of the Affections," and the book says she was nearly unrivaled in this genre. On the other hand, she was "also a New York City sophisticate, welcome in the most exalted literary circles" (2706). In her salon poems, she "wittily destabilizes the underlying premises of the sentimental ethos," which not only illustrates her complex nature because she "wrote" sentimental poetry, but possibly demonstrates the idea that her motivations for writing the sentimental poetry were financial. Perhaps she was paid to write to an audience reluctant to embrace new ideas and unwilling to consider controversial subjects.

            She wrote the poem, "Lines" in response to New York’s "Bill for the Protection of the Property of Married Women." While I was not able to determine exactly what the bill covered, I believe it is fair to assume from the poem that it restricted women’s rights. This clever, witty poem points out that women have property other than material goods.

            Ye make our gold and lands secure;         

                        Maybe you do not know,                              

            That we have other property,

                        We’d rather not forego.

            There are such things in woman’s heart,

                        As fancies, tastes, affections;—

            Are no encroachments made on these?

                        Do they need no ‘protections’? (Lines 9-16, Page 2715)

Using irony, she highlights the idea that since the New York legislature, all men, decided to "protect" women’s property, maybe they should have considered "protecting" the intangible property that women have, such as imagination, judgment, and love.

            In another poem called "Woman," Osgood discusses the status of women in mid-nineteenth century America.

            No longer then the toy, the doll, the slave, 

            But frank, heroic, beautiful, and brave,

            She rises, radiant in immortal youth,

            And wildly pleads for Freedom and for Truth! (Lines 31-34)

            I plead not that she share each sterner task;        

            The cold reformers know not what they ask;

            I only seek for our transplanted fay,

            That she may have—in all fair ways—her way! (Lines 47-50)

This simple request, to have the right to be herself, illustrates society’s restrictions on women’s individuality.

            Her poem, "Ellen Learning to Walk" offers a lighter note. (Reading of poem). Osgood alternating between the perspective of the mother and the perspective of the child makes the poem more interesting—as opposed to the poem only featuring the mother’s viewpoint. She effectively portrays the preciousness of a one-year old child. We can clearly picture Ellen’s bewilderment at suddenly being abandoned by those who have always held her up. Using vivid imagery, she captures Ellen’s emotions, seen in Line 19 when she "hides her bright face" in embarrassment.

            Obviously, Osgood loved her daughter. But in spite of the subject matter, the poem does not "feel" like a Hallmark card. Perhaps the poem is the natural result of an intelligent poet finding pure joy in being a mother—an ideal blending of emotion and thought.

Reflecting on the comments in the introduction about Osgood both writing sentimental poetry as well as making fun of it, perhaps she, like many women—intelligent or not—gushes over her children in private, then admits to friends how silly she is to do so. Question for the class: Should we view Frances Osgood in a lesser light because some of her poetry is about sentimental subjects?

CLASS DISCUSSION:

Suggesting an alternative meaning, Erin said, "I think that even though it is sentimental, she does bring up issues. She talks about how her daughter has been dependent on a male figure for so long. So, even though it is a poem about her daughter walking, it is also about learning to be a woman and be independent. Will continued the thought: "It is really open to interpretation. Ellen represents women working themselves away from the conventions of the time. The father represents the male. Ellen is gaining independence from domestic life or whatever it is." Erin added, "She walks to the mother and away from her father." Will concluded, "Starting at line 17; in that stanza they are celebrating. Finally, you have come to your senses. You finally see what I have been talking about all this time."

Keely discussed Osgood as a loving mother: "One thing that I enjoy about the dynamics for different poetry is that a lot of times if you place yourself in a feministic point of view or a woman’s stand, you alienate yourself from the maternal. At least perceptively, people think oh she’s not going to be a good mom if she is going to be a woman’s rights activist. If you read "The Little Hand," there is no doubt in your mind that this is an extremely maternal, loving individual. And then later you read on page 2716 at the top: "We waste on them our ‘golden’ hours, / Our ‘real estate’ of Beauty, / The bloom of Life’s young passion-flowers— / And still they talk of ‘Duty.’" I just love that. She is not covering herself for being a mother one bit, yet she can take a strong position on getting the respectability that she should earn as a mother. I like that.

I said that reading Osgood reminded me of Toni Morrison’s idea of how we should reconsider our definition of intellectualism. She suggests that we should consider the possibility that feminine intelligence is just as valid as the traditionally viewed and defined "male intelligence," even if not historically recognized as such.

Charley discussed her interpretation of the poem’s description of the father’s role: "When you said that "Ellen Learning to Walk" is not a Hallmark card, I think what took the hallmark card away was that she put in the part about Papa. I know how my husband when my kids started walking. He was just all over the place and down on the floor, and this guy is basically ignoring his child. I see the mother looking at the father not participating in that child’s efforts. The kid is going to walk no matter what, whether the daddy is there or not. The mother sees he is not participating so she says let me get in here to see that she does what she needs to do."

Commenting on Charley’s observation, Lacy said, "Actually, I see it the opposite because the daughter is looking to the father for help. The dad is what she knows and the mom is trying to cajole her away from that—not necessarily away from the father completely but from the dependence on him.

Dr. White interjected, "I think one of the discussions has gone in the direction of how this is a popular form. We see why it is popular, and yet it does exceed that category as well. In other words, it is more than a hallmark card. A hallmark card would be a marker of sentimentality—a kind of thing where everybody would look at it and be pleased. It doesn’t lose touch with that, and yet it goes further than that.

Cleo suggested, "She is expanding the genre of popularity. She isn’t shoving it down someone’s throat. She is putting it out there, and you read the content, but as you get closer you get a message under it."

Dr. White added, "People will accept the risks it is taking because it is all so pleasant. Fern did the same thing. Fern said some things that were right up there with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. But whereas Elizabeth Cady Stanton communicated with a fairly small circle compared to Fern, Fern got those ideas out. If something were said in a politicized way, people would have said, ‘No way.’ But since it is done in a way that makes people laugh or have a nice time, they will just let it pass." Cleo said, "It is like political humor. You say it with fun and people laugh, but you still have a message."

Dr. White offered a comparison in another era in American history. "An example would be the 1950s, which was a very conservative period because of the McCarthy era. You weren’t allowed to criticize the American society in any direct way, and one of the main vehicles for it became musical comedy like ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.’ Conservative suburbanites went to musical comedies and heard some things that were really not entirely what they thought were in their best interest, but they went along with it because they were laughing along and enjoying the tunes."

Commenting on the idea of Osgood’s relationship with Poe, Dr. White said, "Osgood did have a friendship with Poe, and a literary flirtation sounds accurate to me in terms of what was going on between them. There is one other resemblance between her poetry and Poe’s poetry—musical poetry. Just the same way Poe gets by you with that idea of him climbing in the sarcophagus with Annabel Lee every night because it sounds so pretty, here there are some potential risks she is taking in terms of expression, but because it is so musical you just learn to enjoy the ride."

I concluded by reading Osgood’s poem, "The Little Hand" (2709).

SUMMARY:

            While Osgood was known for her popular, sentimental poetry, she also wrote intellectual poems about women’s rights as well. Erin and Will’s suggestion that she may have mingled women’s issues with her sentimental poetry cannot be ignored. Osgood is truly an admirable example of the blending of intellect and affection.