#emma willard

[bartleby-company]

Detalle de “El Templo del Tiempo” (1846) de Emma Willard

[processes]

“The Temple of Time” (1846) by Emma Willard, a leading feminist educator whose innovative maps of time laid the groundwork for the charts and graphics of today.

publicdomainreview essay

[gregorygalloway]

Emma Willard (23 February 1787 – 15 April 1870)

[nordleuchten]

La Fayette and Emma Willard at the Opera

When Emma Willard was travelling Europe in 1830, she visited General La Fayette in Paris in late 1830. The two were close friends, had already met before and especially Willard had nothing but the purest admiration for La Fayette. In her book Journal and Letters from France and Great-Britain (1833) she re-printed several letters where she told her sister every last detail of her visit. Her letters are unusually engaging in my opinion, because they are so personal. Old letters and journals can sometimes feel very stiff, very old and completely removed from our modern reality – but hers is so lively, so ordinary that I could not help but relate to her during certain passages. Due to Willard’s hero-worship of La Fayette, I was afraid she would put him on a gigantic pedestal – but she paints a very humane picture of the ageing Marquis, one that is actually rather refreshing.

With all of that being said, here is a passage from Emma’s letter to her sister Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps from December 7, 1830:

I must now tell you, how it was that we spent the evening together. It was at the Opera Francais, usually called the Grand Opera. You will remember that he told me he had not been at a theatre since the revolution, and the first time he did go, he would go with me. One evening before had been appointed, and failed from the illness of one of the performers. It was the evening before last that we finally went [December 5]. I expected that the people would have cheered him as he entered. But he was in a citizen's dress, and went with a determination, as it appeared, not to be known.

The two boxes next, and each side the king's, were for the evening taken by the La Fayette family. There are places in each for six persons, two in front, and three deep. The General, Mrs. S-. of Baltimore, (a particular friend of Madame George La Fayette,) two of the General's grand-daughters, Col. C-, an officer of his household, and myself, filled the box to the left of the king's. Mrs. S— and myself were placed in the front seats, notwithstanding our entreaties that the General would take one of them; two of his grand–daughters had the two next, and the General was quite back where it was impossible for any one below to see him. The first piece was an opera, “Le Dieu et la Bayadère.” In this I saw the performance of M’lle Taglioni, the first dancer in the world. Much of this French opera dancing is what it should not be; but of Taglioni, though expected much, yet her performance perfectly astonished me; and I exclaimed in a pas seul, where she seemed divested of terrestrial gravity, and to fly, rather than dance, “this is the sublime of dancing!"

The scenery of the theatre — the splendor of the dresses and decorations — the crowds of actors, all capital in their parts — the perfection of instrumental music displayed by the grand orchestra, who were all so perfect in time, that it was as if one spirit played the numberless instruments — all this was admirable.

After we had been in the theatre about half an hour, an officer entered the box, bowed very low, and presented the General a paper, containing a few lines, written, as I observed, in an elegant hand. He looked rather grave, and perplexed for a moment as he read the paper; then said— “the king has sent for me to come to him. I must go, but I will return.” I begged him not to return on my account, if it would incommode him; but he said he could not consent to lose all the pleasure of the evening. Before he returned, the first piece was over; and those of the La Fayette family, in the other box, came in the interval, to greet us. Their countenances seemed a little shaded, and I though they were uneasy that he had insisted on sitting so far back. Mrs. S-. then took her place behind my chair, and all appeared determined that he should take the front seat, when he returned. Just as they had completed the arrangement, he came in, but he refused to go forward. Mrs. S-. now refused to take the seat, as did the other ladies also, who were in the box with us. Just then the sweet Mathilde La Fayette came from the other box to speak to her grand father. He told her to take the seat; and though she would not for the world have done an impolite thing by voluntarily taking the precedence of older ladies; yet she did not a moment dispute, what she saw was her grand-father's will.

Thus seated and arranged, we went through another dancing piece. It was the ballet pantomime of Manon Lescaut. The scenery and the dresses, represented the court of Louis XV. The stiff bows and curtsies,-- and hoops and trains, and elbow cuffs, -- the frizzed and powdered heads, and enormous head-dresses -- the silk velvet, gold-trimmed, long-skirted coats, and silver embroidered white satin vests,-- the little boys and girls dressed like their fathers and mothers, and curtsying and bowing as stiffly, -- the dancing of minuets -- slow, and graceful, and formal, --it was all pleasing: and the representation was historically true.

Gen. La Fayette was much amused. “Why,” said he, “this is exactly my time!” “Voila ce petit enfant!” exclaimed Mathilde, as a little boy, a sprig of nobility, in a long embroidered coat, and flapped vest, with his hair queued and powdered, appeared upon the stage. Said the General, “I was dressed just so, when I was of that age !” “Just so.”

That piece went off. But I observed that the eyes of the people, were ever and anon, turning towards our box; —and when at another interval, we rose from our seats, as every body did, suddenly there was a shout, “Vive La Fayette! Vive La Fayette!” It resounded again and again, and was echoed and re - echoed by the vaulted roof. In the enthusiasm of the moment, I exclaimed, “you are discovered - you must advance!” – and I handed him over the seats, unconscious at the moment that I was making myself a part of the spectacle. He advanced, bowed thrice, and again retreated — but the cries continued. Then the people called out “la Parisienne! la Parisienne!” You know it is the celebrated national song of the last revolution.

The curtain rose. Nourrit, an actor who, in the former piece had the principal male part, came forward. He was dressed as a Parisian gentleman. His figure was bold, and he bore in his hand an ample standard, which he elevated, waving the tri-colored flag. He had himself, been one of the heroes of the three days. He sung the song in its true spirit, amidst repeated applauses. When he came to the part where it speaks of La Fayette with his white hairs, the hero of both worlds, the air was rent with a sudden shout. I looked at him, and met his eye. There was precisely the same expression as I marked, when we sung to him in Troy; and again I shared the sublime emotions of his soul, and again they overpowered my own. My lips quivered, and irrepressible tears started to my eyes. When the song was over, the actor came and opened the door of the box, and in his enthusiasm embraced him. “You sung charmingly,” said La Fayette. “Ah General, you were here to hear me!” was the reply.

When we descended to leave the theatre, the thronging multitude reminded me of the time, when crowds for a similar purpose assembled in America. The grand opera house is an immense building. In the lower part is a large room, supported by enormous pillars, and used as a vestibule. To this room the crowd had, descended, and here they had arranged themselves on each side of a space, which they had left open for La Fayette, that they might see, and bless him as he passed. There was that in this silent testimonial of their affection, more touching, than the noisy acclaim of their shouts. There was something too, remarkable in the well defined line which bounded the way left open. A dense crowd beyond- not even an intruding foot, within the space, which gratitude and veneration had marked. I can scarcely describe my own feelings. I was with him, whom from my infancy I had venerated as the best of men; whom for a long period of my life I had never hoped even to see in this world. Now I read with him his noble history, in the melting eyes of his ardent nation. And I saw that he was regarded as he is, the father of France- aye, and of America too. America! my own loved land! It was for her sake I was thus honored, and it was for me to feel her share in the common emotion. My spirit seemed to dilate, and for a moment, self- personified as the genius of my country, I enjoyed to the full his triumph, who is at once her father, and her adopted son.

I do not know about you, but her descriptions have drawn me in, just if I had been there at the opera that day. The interactions of the family, the merry entertainment, La Fayette joking about his age and sharing childhood anecdotes, the want for historical accuracy being a think way back in 1830, the people singing their revolutionary song, the people lining up for La Fayette ...

A short clarification, the revolution mentioned in the text is not “the” French Revolution but “a” French Revolution – the July Revolution to be precise (also referred to as the French Revolution of 1830, the Second French Revolution, Trois Glorieuses or Three Glorious Days.) The Revolution saw the forced abdication of Charles X and the ascent of King Louis Philipe I. La Fayette played an important part during these events and many people of the time were of the opinion that King Louis Philipe more or less owned his crown to La Fayette. The revolution was also the reason why this visit with Emma Willard was the first visit to the opera this year for La Fayette. He thought people would think of him as vain were he to seek out a public place where the people would undoubtedly cheer for him (as they did).

[historybizarre]

In Its First Decades, The United States Nurtured Schoolgirl Mapmakers

Education for women and emerging nationhood, illustrated with care and charm.

The first “schoolgirl map” that caught historian Susan Schulten’s attention was made in 1823 by Frances Henshaw, a student at one of the best schools for girls in the young United States. The map came from Henshaw’s Book of Penmanship, which included details about geography and astronomy—comets, meridians, horizons, polar circles, and climate zones. The young woman’s drawing encompassed 19 states, copied from Carey’s American Pocket Atlas, from 1805, and Arrowsmith and Lewis’ Atlas, from 1812.

Schulten studies 19th-century American cartography at the University of Denver, and she was excited to find a map so charming and pretty, with a connection to the history of education for women. The more she started looking for maps like it, the more she found, until she had collected around 150 maps made by American schoolchildren in the early 1800s. “I started looking at them because I was captivated,” she says. “They jump at you … someone put so much time into this.”

[ndb1963]

Temple of Time (1846)

By  Emma Willard (1787-1870)

American Educator and Woman’s Rights Activist

Based on Memory Palace  mnemonic devices that allowed people to memorize information by imagining it as architectural details in a three-dimensional mental space. The vertical columns represent centuries, with those on the right showing names of important figures from the Old World while those on the left show figures from the New World.

[littlefoible]

1853 - Emma Willard

[nordleuchten]

La Fayette and Emma Willard

I promised a long time ago in a post about La Fayette and his attitude towards woman, that I would transcribe a few letters between La Fayette and notable woman of his time. Now, with the generous help of @acrossthewavesoftime, I can present you the first of these letters - a letter by Emma Willard (née Hart).

Troy, May 1 1833

My dear General,

Sometimes when I think of you I feel such a desire to see you, that I am tempted to go again to France. Are you not coming to America? You intended when I was in Paris, and why not come now? Why not leave France to herself and come to us? Do not my dear friend, too much regret what has happened there. Much had been gained by your revolution, tho not all you could have wished. I rejoice that all that has happened, is of a nature to exalt your own fame, as it will go down to future times, as the great benefactor of your own. You might it is true have taken to yourself, the government of France, when you gave it to other hands; But if you had, the selfish and the ambitious would have suid [sic] — there is no such thing as disinterested benevolence, — even Lafayette has yielded to the dictates of ambition. — Now, I regard you as standing among individuals as America among nations, a revolution in yourself of the slanders against humanity

I send you a copy of an appeal which I have lately made in favour of promoting female education in Greece. It appears to be favourably received and our Ladies in different parts of the country are forming societies to aid in the project. The women in those darkened regions of the earth are oppressed beyond all other oppression. The negro slave is free compared with them — Sold by parents to men whom perhaps they loathe, and by them, if suspected put to asuret [sic] death. Complian [sic] tho I have not so much for spoken of this, in my appeal, does yet contemplate the planting of a Tree whose leaves may be for the future healing of the degraded women of mahometan countries. If we succeed in educating the Greek women, and educating them to moral dignity; it must inevitably work a change in the customs of the surrounding nations. I think you will be gratified to know that a spirit to attempt such an enterprise is abroad among the deaughters [sic] your own America; and that it was moved as fast by her, you have called your friend, and who prizes the appellation above all earthly titles.

Remember me if your daughters are with you as you speak to them. In looking over my papers to prepare my Journal for the press (which I am about to give to the Greek cause) I am again and again touched with the feeling of their kindness to me while I was in France. I have written letters which I think have not been received — one to Mathilde [La Fayette’s second grand-daughter by his son Georges Washington La Fayette] and several to yourself. Perhaps my name devoted to yourself and family may be even too prominent in the memories of my stay in Paris — but the heart loves to speak its inward feelings, and mine is

Yours in the Truest friendship and the warmest gratitude

Emma Willard

Gen. La Fayette

Emma Hart Willard was an American women’s right activist with a special interest in the education of women. Her engagement and sphere of interest was not limited to her native country, as you can see in this letter. She was active all around the western world and had many influential and revered friends - one of them was La Fayette. It seems as if they first met during La Fayette’s visit to America in 1824/25. Willard had established a school for girls in Troy, New York, in 1821 (actually already in 1818 but the school was not properly running prior to 1821), known as the Troy Female Seminary. The school, with a new name, is still operating and doing extremely well these days. La Fayette visited the Seminary in 1825. Here is what La Fayette’s private secretary, Auguste Levasseur, wrote in his book about the visit (Lafayette in America, in 1824 and 1825; or, Journal of Travels, in the United States. by A. Levasseur, 1829, Vol. 1, pages 119-120)

While we were taking breakfast in the house, from the balcony of which we had seen all the militia of the place and the neighbouring towns march by, the General received a message from the ladies of Troy, inviting him to visit the Female Boarding School, where they had all assembled to receive him; and he set out with pleasure. The avenues to that establishment, which is conducted by Mrs. Willard, were decorated with green branches and flowers, and terminated near the house at a triumphal arch, under which he was received by a committee of ladies, at the head of whom was Mrs. Paulding, who, in few words, expressed to him the patriotic sentiments of the ladies of Troy, and their gratitude to the illustrious benefactor of their beloved country. He was then conducted by that committee into the establishment, where none of the other gentlemen accompanied him; and we soon after heard the pure and angelic voices of a choir of young ladies singing.

The General soon after reappeared on the threshold, his features expressing a deep feeling, his eyes filled with tears. He slowly descended the steps, supported and surrounded by the principal ladies of the academy. Two hundred young ladies, dressed in white, followed him, harmoniously raising the voice of gratitude to Heaven. They conducted him to the outer gate, where they took an affecting leave, in the presence of several thousand spectators, whom the scene had reduced to a solemn silence.

General Lafayette wished not to leave Troy, without making a few private visits to different persons of his intimate acquaintance, and particularly Mrs. Taylor, with whose family he became attached during the revolutionary war. Mrs. Taylor is a young lady much distinguished by her wit, and by the acquisitions she has made in the boarding school we had just visited. We found in her house a handsome cabinet of minerals, remarkable for its order and value. She presented the General, as a memorial of Troy, a hortus - siccus, including more than two hundred of the most remarkable plants of that vicinity, collected, arranged, and described by herself.

La Fayette’s and Willard’s relationship became very close and affectionate in the following years as you can see in the letter above. Willard plays at her visit to France in 1830 and she later published a book about her time in France - Journal and Letters from France and Great-Britain (1833). Included in this book are several letters from Emma to her sister, describing the time she spent with La Fayette and his family in Paris. Her descriptions are rather lengthy but offer great insight into her activities in Paris (she attended two soirees at La Fayette’s house, visited the opera with him, he arranged for her to meet the Queen, he took her to visit the Chambre of Deputies, …), as well as offer some personal insight into La Fayette’s character and his relationship with his family. I thought to include some short excerpts here to emphasise their relationship but her re-telling’s deserve their own time in the spot light.