Caroline Garner
Dr. Craig White
Literature 5535
Fall 2000

The Rebellious Spirit of Romanticism

The Americas are rooted in a rebellious past. The first historically known rebels were the men traveling with Christopher Columbus. In the "Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage," Columbus is upset to the point that he feels "It can be believed that they go forth to plunder"(13). These explorers refused to live by the same social codes as they would have in Europe. An exotic, sensual, and newly enticing environment could be to blame for these men seeking gold and women over a spiritual heightening. The men’s actions show their lack of respect for their leader, which is a prevalent theme seen in early American life. The Puritans’ disgust for the Anglican Church follows in historical chronology. Columbus’s letters show the struggle he faced, and he saw disobedience as a "great prejudice [to] my honor and…great damage to the enterprise"(13). His American dreams were impossible with men who rejected the same ideas; Columbus lost his charisma when he answered to the Spanish Crown. While the leader of a new land was responsible to his financiers, its inhabitants were not. This seems to have created an environment where opposition opened the door to many possibilities. Columbus had different ideas for the New World, but his men, it seems, became more lax when they did not have to answer to a parent figure. After all, Columbus was responsible for answering to Spain, but his fellow travelers were not. Also interesting is that their finding of America was considered "beyond comparison with others which I know in Christendom,"(12) according to Columbus in his "Letter to Luis Santangel Regarding the First Voyage." The voyage Columbus speaks of here reveals a totally different world where Christian ways of life could be forgotten because of the land’s very lush nature; these early texts reveal a potential struggle.

The later Puritan settlers were also rebelling, this time from a larger force: England’s despotic rule. America, from its very start, seems to accept an openness of thought that coexisted in strict, yet blurred, boundaries. Anne Bradstreet can be seen as an example of a woman who rebelled in the realm of domesticity available to her. Consider first that she had eight children, even though her health was poor. It would seem that if a woman had poor health, she would not partake in activities that could harm her. Childbirth could have been a burden to Bradstreet, for she had so many things to worry about. Would her surviving children be able to make it without her? Would her husband be able to raise their children as she thought fit? Or, as she frets over in "Before the Birth of One of Her Children," would her family be "protect[ed] from some stepdame’s injury"? It seems that pointing out these fears is, in a way, rebellious. However veiled Bradstreet’s voice may be, the very fact that she let out her thoughts to the rest of the world was new and exciting for a pioneer American woman writer. She certainly was not ready for her work to appear before the world, "The Author to Her Book" reveals concern and maybe a little vanity. Bradstreet worried that readers would see her as a bad mother because she did not take the proper time to dress her book properly, like she would her children before going to Sunday church services. By not fixing a few "blemishes" and sending her poetry out "in rags," Bradstreet resents the people who "snatched [her poetry] from thence by friends, less wise than true." She hates that her "errors were not lessened." Bradstreet is so scared that her audience will see her faults instead of her gift.

Bradstreet rebels also by letting her true opinion out. She did not want her book and private domestic life to be seen by the rest of the world in "The Author to Her Book." A double voice can arguably be interpreted in some of her other poems as well. Now, this might be subtle rebellion, but it is rebellion nonetheless. With "To My Dear and Loving Husband," she speaks of her husband as a "prize" which she "can no way repay." Certainly she appreciates the life her husband provided for her. However, could she also be saying that she feels he did not value her? Or, did she feel that, as a woman, it was her duty to value her husband merely because he was her husband? Perhaps, Bradstreet was being sarcastic in such a way as to fool her husband and readers. Or, women like herself might have some innate ability to read further into her feelings. The fellow women readers might understand. Thus, she had a following through her very ambiguous and secret messages. Also, when did she have time to show such fondness for this man with eight children running around the house? That fact alone shows an extraordinary woman, what we might call a superwoman character today. It seems she could do everything, and she performed all of her duties, including those to her "Dear and Loving Husband," with a high degree of grace. If the possibility exists that Bradstreet complains of her life through her poems, she does so in a way that transcends the written word. By this, she could be saying so many different things through the short poems she gives us. Her domestic realm was not perfect, and the very notion that a woman would admit that fact, during her time, seems, at the very least, boldly different.

With Susanna Rowson’s Charlotte: A Tale of Truth, rebellion appears on the American literary front through the struggle of the heart to duty. Rowson may be showing the consequences of a girl gone bad through the character of Charlotte, but many read this popular work supposedly as an enjoyable lesson. A type of voyeuristic audience was drawn into Charlotte’s life. Readers feel sympathy for this young woman, who let herself fall into the arms of the wrong man. By reading this book, young women could feel Charlotte’s pain, minus the cost of the actual experience. Charlotte’s mind resisted the charms of Montraville, but her heart could not. This struggle between realism and romanticism is evident when Charlotte reads Montraville’s letter. Charlotte even remembers her mother’s instructions to "never read a letter given me by a young man, without first giving it to her"(377). Mrs. Temple wants dearly to protect her daughter from any ill intentioned young men. In this case, however, the romantic force of temptation takes over. Charlotte reads the letter, and Mademoiselle LaRue "saw that the contents had awakened new emotions in her youthful bossom…it was determined that she should meet Montraville the ensuing evening"(378). Charlotte has taken a bite of the forbidden fruit, and she cannot get enough of it, no matter how bad it is for her.

Another way to view Charlotte’s rebellion has to do with resisting her own conscience. She constantly tells herself she will "never repeat the indiscretion"(381), but she does so time and time again. Montraville also seems to rebel from better judgement. He know that this romantic endeavor "can be productive of no good"(373), yet he openly pursues Charlotte’s affections. In the end, he rebels from the romantic spirit that drew him to this young innocent creature by marrying a woman of wealth. He does the right thing for his circumstances, but this is wrong to his heart. In this way, Montraville, too, is a victim to his romantic inclinations. He wants Charlotte, but when he gets her, he realizes that she was not what he really needed. Montraville takes the easy way out, thus leaving Charlotte to the care of strangers. He is able to go on with his life, but Charlotte must carry the burden of their rebellious relations.

William Apess is another interesting romantic writer. With Apess, rebellion comes full circle through the written word. In the previous "Cherokee Memorials," a respectful and obedient voice seeks the discretion of a nation that wanted what the natives rightfully had. Apess is far more bold than the resounding Declaration of Independence tone seen in the "Memorials." Apess does begin "An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man" through a Declaration of Independence idea, though. He shoots a straight arrow when he writes that "the white man and the Indian, whose abilities are the same…are to be judged by one God"(478). These are very powerful prose, and he even admits that "I presume this kind of talk will seem surprising and horrible"(479).

What was really horrible to Apess, however, was to see the condition that the Indian was forced to live in. Women were left alone and unprotected to the white man when their own men were not able to be there for them. Apess also stresses that these women should be educated. This, he believes, would make them realize the situation they were in. An intriguing notion that Apess further details is that these women feel inferior. He seems to think that if these indigenous women were given the word of God, they would better be able to care for themselves. It is intriguing to think that reading, especially the Bible, would help these women take control of their lives. That Apess suggests a woman could take care of herself through education is an idea before its time.

Apess uses the Bible so well to show the white man his wrongs. When he says that Jesus Christ was not white, he makes a good point. The color of skin never seemed important to the very being that the white man held so dear. But, the Indian was in the way of gold, as we are first introduced to in "The Cherokee Memorials." This God versus gold idea forced thousands of Indians off of their land in the infamous "Trail of Tears." The bottom line, sadly, was that Indians were worthless if they were in the way of wealth and progress.

In James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, a nostalgic respect for the Indian is finally realized. The title of the book shows an ironic tragedy, though. The respect comes a little late, as Uncas is the last of his people, and his life ends before an heir is born. Cooper raises so many rebellious possibilities in this book. The book is suggestive, even if unrealistic, as critics like Mark Twain humorously point out. Hawkeye is quite a noble character creation by Cooper. This Leatherstocking figure lives as an Indian, and he is genuinely interested in Chingachgook’s people’s history. Finally, someone looks outside of Christianity to explore another culture. That is refreshing to see, yet Chingachgook wonders, "Is there no difference…between the stone-headed arrow of the warrior, and the leaden bullet with which you kill?"(30). Again, as William Apess later suggests, white and red men share a common bond: they are people. That reality even relates to their barbarous acts. Furthermore, people have unique and rich histories, even the not so respectable kind, that are a part of who they are. Spiritually, on another angle, the Indians look to nature, while the white Christians look to some being above. Yet, each ambiguous belief has value, as Cooper points out. And these different values might have the possibility to coexist through The Last of the Mohicans.

Unfortunately, the possibility is unfulfilled when Cora and Uncas die, together. Their suggested union is only possible in an afterworld. This might not necessarily be a "Heaven of pale faces"(343), either, because Cora was of a mixed race and Uncas was of native American blood. Another crossing of boundaries occurs when the Delaware girls perform burial rituals, which were not exactly Christian. Though they were respectful and stepped back to let David Gamut finish Cora’s burial ceremony, their involvement is significant. Cora was at the very least honored with a mixed rite of passage into whatever world that followed.

Romantic rebellion comes in many forms, and these texts only scratch the surface. While each author discussed may be very different, their common thread lies in their unique forms of rebellion. They also show how rebellion seems to progress in a short period of history. From the times of Columbus to the time Cooper wrote, a lot happened. A nation was developed. That nation was not based on people who all agreed, either, for the Puritans certainly did not agree with the mother country of Great Britain. The literary texts that remain from this time period show how these rebellious voices were born. Christopher Columbus attempts to maintain order on his free-spirited travelers. Then, we see rebellious thoughts developing in early writers like Anne Bradstreet. Susanna Rowson later shows a struggle between right and wrong. James Fenimore Cooper soon makes the suggestion that rebellion can exist in our nature, but we hear loud and clear the voice of rebellion through William Apess.