"We are all a little wild here with numerous projects of social reform. Not a reading man but has a draft of a new community in his waistcoat pocket." -Emerson, (1840)
Fruitlands was started by Charles Lane and Bronson Alcott, who is now better known as the father of Louisa May. Like most Utopian communities of this time, they strove to blend manual and intellectual labor in order to become increasingly spiritual individuals. The cards were stacked against Fruitlands from the beginning. They planted too late and were overwhelmed with entertaining visitors eager to see the experiment but not work for it. The somewhat eccentric thirteen members of the community included a nudist and formerly institutionalized philosopher, who were more interested in talking than weeding. To top it off, Lane and Alcott decided to go on a lecture tour right before harvest, leaving Abba Alcott (his wife) and the future stars of Little Women (all under thirteen at the time) to do all the work.
The main reason the experiment failed, though, is the struggle over the definition of family. Lane argued for a consociate family of all people. Abba constantly maintained her preference for her biological family, recognizing the importance of a larger connection between people but fighting for the well being of her children above all else. Lane maintained that spiritual perfection couldn't be reached until the Alcott family dissolved their personal ties and committed to the larger community. When they ultimately refused, he left for the Shakers, an enormously successful community that rejected marriage and raised adopted children communally. (I would argue their success came more from their work ethic and ability to charge a lot for their furniture rather than their celibate lifestyle, but anyway...Apparently no marriages and few kids=money)
The struggle to balance the needs of your nuclear family with your commitment to the larger community is something I am sure we will struggle with, especially when we have children. Right now, the only way I could ever see us leaving Franklinton is if we felt it was seriously injuring our children in some way, although I'm not sure what that would look like. Abba left Fruitlands when the children were faced with starvation, but I am sure our experiences won't be as cut and dry. At the same time, there are many children we care about in the community who don't have the option to leave and why should our kids be any different? Shouldn't we continuing working to improve the community for all of the children?
Of course, a lot of our friends are successfully raising amazing kids in the neighborhood and this is not something we really have to worry about yet. So now I am going to enjoy the sunshine, avoid grading for awhile, and spend more time with the Alcotts. They are fun to hang out with. Tonight, "The Waste-Land" at the Wex and an Old Hundred show. My real friends are fun to hang out with, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment