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made earlier by Mary Merrick Brooks about her mother’s influence: “the world little knew how much
Mr. Emerson owed his wife, that he would have been a different man with another woman.” 5
Perhaps the combination of these events gave her the idea to write about her mother, for by August
she was staying with her friend Nina Lowell and working on the memoir daily, staying true to her
promise to herself that this mission would be the primary purpose of the trip. 6 She spent two weeks
there, and Lowell helped her stay on track and avoid distractions. This dedication is particularly
notable, as Ellen almost never took time for herself even after the death of her parents, putting care
for her sister, nieces and nephews, elderly relatives, and the house ahead of her own desires. She
continued to set aside time to write, and from 1897 through 1899, she held readings of the work for
family and friends. (The work was published posthumously by Twayne Publishers in 1980, edited by
Delores Bird Carpenter. It was re‐released by Michigan State University Press in 1992.)
A critical element of the memoir is Ellen’s emphasis on her mother’s achievements and
intelligence. Ellen emphasizes her mother found her spirits lifted when she became intellectually
engaged. In 1878, for instance, Lidian became active in Bronson Alcott’s Summer School of
Philosophy, attending all the lectures and inviting other attendees to socialize at her home. “The
regular rising and regular walking to & fro, the new interest and the extremely social life she won
great benefit from,” Ellen notes. 7 She also focuses on her mother’s reform work, which was spurred
by her extreme sensitivity to the suffering of any living creature. “She joined the Anti‐Slavery Society
and remained a zealous member till Slavery was abolished,” Ellen (who was also a member of the
society) remembers. 8 Lidian’s work with the Dumb Animal Society is also included, such as her
service as Vice President and her contributions to the organization’s paper; Ellen expresses regret
that she did not seek out copies of the articles to keep for herself. 9 She acknowledges, “I had first
gradually opened my eyes to her beauty, then to her courage, then to the high atmosphere in which
she dwelt, later to the amusing and more slowly to the excellence of the amusing traits of her
character.” 10
It is significant that Ellen came to recognize and document her mother’s intellectual life as she
embraced her own. Ellen was formally educated, attending the Sedgwick, Agassiz, and Sanborn
schools, but she often presented herself as almost willfully unintellectual. She once wrote to a family
friend, for instance, “I have never read Father’s books, not one except the Poems.” 11 Some of that
may have been a front, part of her ongoing reticence about her own needs and desires. For while
she claimed not to be intellectually engaged, she often reported on what she was reading or her
plans to read, even if she did not lay down her reflections on those works in ink. Even in the letter
where she claimed not to have read her father’s work, she continued, “but so it happens that I have
twice read the first part of the Essay on Manners and a few pages of Nature.” 12 And as she aged, she
did become more curious about the world. This is evidenced on her trip to Egypt and Europe with
her father from 1872 through 1873. While her letters continue to focus on mundane concerns,
including her sprained ankle and money worries, Ellen also documents a genuine interest in the
world around her. This is particularly evident as she explores forms of worship; while never wavering
in belief that her version of Christianity is the best path, she genuinely enjoys discussing matters of
religion and visiting other churches throughout the trip. After visiting a Coptic Church, for instance,
she wrote to her sister Edith, “I came away very puzzled—of course disagreeably impressed by a part
of it—but delighted with the prominent share of the children in the service and knowing very well
that I had been in a church—that was good—and most of all curious to know something about it
all.” 13 Even more notable is her decision to take a University Extension course at Oxford on European
history in the summer of 1894. She prepared diligently before arriving and seems to have had a lively
and intellectually rewarding time while there. Ellen seems to have channeled that experience into
her commitment to document her mother’s life in a sophisticated and rigorous way, when she
started it the following year.