Autograph manuscript, one page, 6.5 x 7.75, no date. Emerson pens an interesting moralistic passage on the subject of marriage. In full: “I told Emily [possibly Emily Ervine Drury, a close intellectual confidante of Emerson’s] that my view might differ from hers in this, that I had from early impression a feeling of the Sanctity of the marriage vow. It was not to me merely a measure intended to ensure the happiness of two individuals, but a solemn obligation, which, whether it led to happiness or not, was the means of bringing home to the mind the great idea of duty, the understanding of which, & not happiness, seemed to be the object of life.” The first five lines were closely cropped from a different page and affixed at the top of the sheet, and the text bears a few light editorial pencil notations. In fine condition. Accompanied by a blade of grass affixed to an off-white slip, labeled “From the grave of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sleepy Hollow Graveyard, June ’86.”
Though undated, the tone of this passage indicates that it was likely written later in Emerson’s life. In his early twenties, he married Ellen Louisa Tucker and found himself consumed with happiness for their short union; her death two years later devastated him, ending his carefree first love. When he did remarry in 1835, it was centered more on an intellectual attraction. He and Lidian [nee Lydia] Jackson shared many views on political and social issues, raised four children together—one named after his first wife, Ellen—and by all accounts were a happy family. This remarkable manuscript, seemingly unpublished, illustrates a maturation of Emerson’s view on marriage, shifting the importance from the intense happiness of a young newlywed to the obligations of an older husband and father, bound by “the great idea of duty, the understanding of which…seemed to be the object of life.” Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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