Nordic Influence on Emerson’s Self-Reliance

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This is the story about one woman’s quest to answer the questions: From where and whom did Ralph Waldo Emerson learn about the Scandinavian Vikings and at what age did he first learn about them? In the words of Andrew Wawn, The most fundamental Viking-age belief was self-reliance. If a young Ralph Waldo Emerson was exposed to the mythical stories and historical actions of the Scandinavian Vikings, could that mean that his sense of self-reliance expressed in his lectures and writings was a direct result of knowing about these stories early in life?

Researcher Elizabeth Scofield walks the reader through her 1993-2006 journey from the West Coast of the United States all the way to Roskilde, Denmark, and then to Harvard University to read the original journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson at Houghton Library. From there she visited the museum of Concord, and the historic houses, and in particular the Old Manse where Ralph Waldo Emerson spent much of his youth, to trace books and literature with a Scandinavian focus that were owned by his family. With the evidence discovered and presented in this book, she opens up new questions as to the possible true source of Emerson’s concept of Self-Reliance.