The sufi element in Emerson and Thoreau

Abstract

The present study was inspired to a large extent by a well-known fact of American literary history – the deep interest of the two pioneering figures Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in the East. Both were not only deeply interested in but influenced by the ancient civilization and thought of the East. Unfortunately, the „East‟ has almost always meant „Indian‟ for scholars. As a result, the Indian element in Emerson and Thoreau has been the subject of many studies. What is not generally recognized is the fact that both Emerson and Thoreau were also interested in Persian Literature and thought. Emerson for instance has an essay on Persian poetry and a poem entitled „Sa‟di‟. When one looks at the philosophy Emerson espoused, Transcendentalism, and also at the way of life in the community he and others like Fuller and Hawthorne founded at Concord, one is struck by the similarity between their values and the Sufi principles. This perception can be regarded as the genesis of the present study. An examination of critical literature on Emerson and Thoreau showed that there are many studies dealing with the Indian, especially the Hindu influence on Emerson and Thoreau, but there are practically no full-length studies tracing out the Persian element in their work. Since Sufism is at the heart of Persian culture, a study that undertakes to find the Sufi elements in Emerson and Thoreau is sure to be fruitful. And therein lies the originality of this study. It expects to fill up the absence of such a study in Emerson-Thoreau scholarship.