Analysis of the “Great Lawsuit” by Margaret Fuller (Essay Sample)

Analysis of the “Great Lawsuit” by Margaret Fuller
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Analysis of the “Great Lawsuit” by Margaret Fuller
The essay the “Great Lawsuit” by Margaret Fuller is an allusion to the abolitionist movement. In her essay, Fuller compares the social position of women to that of slaves. Her main aim is to present women’s equality as both a civil rights issue and a moral issue. Margaret Fuller believed that the social reforms from women’s rights were not far equal to the prison system. In her position, she believed that women also had the right to full, good education. She argues that with education, women will now be able to become independent and give them many opportunities than those that the social convention of the nineteenth century accepted. In support of women’s rights, she argues that the inequality between the different genders is unreasonable and can be seen through her logical use in supporting her arguments. In her reasoning, she believes that it has been proven for many years that women are able to work well in places even outside home. The notion of marriage has been coached on women for centuries, that men not only have stronger passions than them, but it would also be shameful for them to share of even understand. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to offer analysis and evidence from the essay, of the themes, idea and trope that will be explored as well as provide textual evidence of its contemporary relevancy.
First, one of the main ideas that Fuller brings across in her essay is that America failed in its intended mission to expose a great moral law. Once the fact that all men are created equal was articulated, it became a divine mandate as well as a law, which Americans violated in their unfair treatment of women as well as slaves. One of the themes as addressed by Margret Fuller in her book the “Great Lawsuit” is inequality. According to her, enlightenment is only possible if mankind recognizes the equality of both sexes. This is proven in her essay where she provides a vision of women’s path to equality. The notion of inequality is brought out when she compares the institutions of womanhood and manhood in America. When she outlines the types of partnership in the household, inequality is brought about. The textual evidence of its contemporary relevancy for instance is shown in the household partnership, the man dominates in one way or another (McCammon, 2014). Fuller notes how the institutions of marriage promote the idea that man is the head of the household and woman is the heart of the household. The idea therefore automatically sees the woman as inferior not different from children. Therefore, if women are capable of achieving their self-dependence, it would be better for them (Robert et al., 2020). She further argues that men will benefit if they gave women a chance to explore their talents and gifts. For women to achieve this, they need access to intellectual freedom.
Furthermore, Fuller further main purpose in her essay is to explore the religious concept that man will inherit the earth once their conscience has been enlightened and they fully experience celestial love. The contemporary culture is definitely insensible to celestial love but there is still hope to awaken the love. Fuller argues that man is not able to attain the state of perfection because of his selfish desires but still argues that man is still capable of achieving this new level of enlightment but only if he realizes the power of women (Fuller, 1843). Therefore, this brings us to the next theme that she explores which is barbarism. Fuller asks a question in regards to barbarism. She asks what women and local people have in common. In her response she says that both of them are oppressed by the patriarchal society. She explains from her examples such as Mary Wollstonecraft have contributed against barbarism in American history of women’s rights. She explains that America’s colonial history has clogged the path towards gender equality. According to her, this barbarism was inherited from Europe by America with evidence from how the colonialists treated natives and African Americans. She condemns such barbarism and argues that true abolitionists are those who practice celestial love and extend it to all humanity including women.
In continuation, the author has also explored the theme of marriage as an institution that shows the relationship between man and woman. Fuller outlines four different types of marriage. First, she outlines household partnership as one of the types of marriage. Here, she says that this kind of partnership is an agreement of convenience. For instance, in the text, she outlines that “The man furnishes the house, the woman regulates it. Their relation is one of mutual esteem, mutual dependence. Their talk is of business; their affection shows itself by practical kindness.” This is the textual evidence of its contemporary relevancy. Furthermore, she outlines mutual idolatry as the other type of marriage which according to her occurs when the man and woman find aptness in each other to the exclusion of the rest of the world. She explains that “The parties weaken and narrow one another; they lock the gate against all the glories of the universe that they may live in a cell together” (Fuller, 1843). The next type of marriage that she outlines is intellectual companionship which is based on mutual trust and respect. She quotes that “Men engaged in public life, literary men, and artists have often found in their wives’ companions and confidants in thought no less than in feeling”. The last form of marriage that she outlines is religious union which according to her is the highest form of marriage and combines all of the other traits. She says that men and women are equal on a pilgrimage towards a common religion. She explains “How sad would it be on such a journey to have a companion to whom you could not communicate thoughts and aspirations, as they sprang to life, who would have no feeling for the more and more glorious prospects that open as we advance, who would never see the flowers that may be gathered by the most industrious traveler”.
In addition, the motif or trope in the “Great Lawsuit” is on self-reliance and the quest for enlightment. Her work is an internal quest of all sorts that is majorly tied to self-reliance and self-determination. A person should be able to think independently and find the answers to the great questions of life rather than relying on people’s interpretations and assumptions. She believes that all humans are capable of understanding true love and rising to the perfection that characterizes love. However, this transformation does not come alone but the person has to work to make it happen. An individual therefore has to know himself well so that he can know God well. According to her, the society should encourage people to do these things by giving them the freedom of making their own choices and giving them the chance to cultivate self-reliance and achieve the quest of enlightment. The American society of the nineteenth century has to be reformed in order to recognize the equality that God had given. Therefore, people in the path of perfection have to advocate the need of abolition of slavery, oppression of women and the end of patriarchal traditions such as forcing women to confine themselves into domestic chores and not to cultivate them