In Emerson’s essay, “Experience,” he comments on his own perspective on life. He plays with the idea of not knowing what life has in store for himself or anyone else. He begins the essay by asking, “where do we find ourselves?” He continues into the essay, saying that no one truly knows what to expect out of life, and that most things in life are unknown.
A recurring theme seen in Emerson’s essays is the idea of religion and God. I have noticed this pattern in motif in transcendental writing, which Emerson’s essays fall under. In the first paragraph of “Experience,” it says, “we wake and find ourselves on a stair; there are stairs below us,…there are stairs above us, many a one, which go upward and out of sight.” I believe that this is an allusion to the idea of heaven, the stairs above us, and hell, the stairs below us. Later in the essay, he mentions Hermes and Osiris. Hermes is a Greek God and Osiris is an Egyptian God. By mentioning three Gods of three different belief systems, I believe that he is trying to emphasize the point that every person’s life is different, as different people have different belief systems, which shapes them into the person they are, the person they become, and the lifestyle they live.
“Experience” is not the only essay of Emerson’s that talks about the idea of religion. “Self Reliance” is without a doubt one of Emerson’s most well known essays. I read “Self Reliance” during my junior year of high school, so I already know that this essay is centered around the idea of nonconformity, and living one’s own life without influence from others. About half way through the essay, Emerson writes, “if I am the Devil’s child, I will live then from the Devil.” While Emerson is not referring to God in this statement, the Devil is still an aspect of religion. Emerson is saying here that he will be the person he is meant to be and will not change because of other people.
Another Emerson essay that talks about the idea of religion is “Circles.” In this essay, Emerson talks about the idea that life is just a series of cycles that are never ending. Every aspect of life is a different circle in the eyes of Emerson. Religion is brought up a lot throughout this essay. In the first paragraph, Emerson says, “St. Augustine described the nature of God as a circle whose centre was everywhere, and its circumference nowhere.” Here I believe that Emerson is saying that the “circle” of religion is universal and is a part of every person’s life. Later in the essay, Emerson writes, “Christianity is rightly dear to the best of mankind; yet was there never a young philosopher whose breeding had fallen into the Christian church..” Here Emerson is saying that religion, specifically Christianity, is important to everyone even if they were never raised in the church. This continues to play into his first statement about the circle of religion and that it is a part of everyone’s life.
Site Title 