Ralph Waldo Emerson was a central figure in the American Romantic era, his ideas about individualism, the divine, and conformity caused a revolution in the ideas of the time. He began to write after the death of his first wife; suffering from loss, he gave up his faith to become a writer. As a writer Emerson became one of the greatest writers and ultimately a great leader of the Transcendentalist movement; kicking off the movement of Transcendentalism with his essay Self-Reliance. The Transcendentalist movement was an organized movement which was formed by the ideas of many thinkers in New England at this time. The movement included the beliefs and ideas that reality is based on our thoughts and that our intuition should guide us. According …show more content…
Also, Emerson believed we should not conform to the ideas of society that constantly surround us and our ideas. Emerson’s ideas of individualism helped shape modern day ideas of today’s society. Emerson was a unique individual, so much so that he started a revolution in his thoughts. I would like to believe that one day my own thoughts would become revolutionary for the women in my generation. The women in my generation are becoming more self-reliant than before. We stand up and out for our rights with our words, actions, and thoughts. Women today will not conform to the thoughts of those around us; we will not hide behind the guidelines set before we were born. Emerson once said, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request in conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not reality and creators, but names and customs” (Glencoe