Walden

This passage from Walden highlights Thoreau’s reflections on the enduring value of wood, comparing its significance across different cultures and times.

[The wasps came by thousands to my lodge in October, as to winter quarters, and settled on my windows within and on the walls over-head, sometimes deterring visitors from entering. Each morning, when they were numbed with cold, I swept some of them out, but I did not trouble myself much to get rid of them; I even felt complimented by their regarding my house as a desirable shelter.]

I’m very curious about Thoreau’s decision to leave this paragraph and the next in. It feels kind of silly in a way to have this section dedicated to wasps to the point of comparing their migration to his. He’s always very focused on the people and his immediate inanimate environment, so this tidbit just about these insects feels unique to me. Did he feel them so important to his home and the way he was living at the time that they had to be included?

I liked this chapter and found it rather interesting. Thoreau seems to be having a conversation with himself, but also with the world he lives in. He acknowledges that he is a Hermit, but also a Poet and he lives in the duality of this nature. He seems to wonder what the outside world is doing, but he also looks inward at himself for comfort as well. This was an interesting chapter.

I am interested in why he goes back and forth between the Hermit and the Poet. It seems like they are having a conversation, however it reads more as monologues to simple questions that are barely being answered  and then it randomly transitions into Thoreau speaking again. Is he the Hermit to the poet? or are they two different characters that he has come across?

I am curious if this quote was not in any of Thoreau’s other versions of this manuscript. In paragraph 19, he claims that he missed cooking with a fire and that cooking with a stove is not “poetic.” Thoreau then remembers the words of a poet. When did Thoreau remember these words? Was it when he was writing this, or was it when he was editing his work? Was this paragraph different before he added this quote?

[ I had a companion in my fishing,]

I really enjoyed this chapter. I think the conversational aspect of it between the poet and the hermit is really interesting and clever, the way Thoreau carries it out. It could have been summarized as a conversation, but I like the back-and-forth aspect of the dialogue. I wonder if this was how he had it planned out originally, or if he first intended to write this scene as a summary. I think this could be a part of Walden that he edited and then included the dialogue.

In this paragraph, Thoreau condemns industrial, profit-motivated farming in preference for foraging. This is seen in his choice for the beauty and fragrance of wild grapes rather than their taste or function as a food item. Additionally, his reverence of the Apios tuberosa shows his respect for naturally found food over the “fatted cattle and waving grain fields”. I wonder how this preference changed over time in each version of the manuscript? Was he once indifferent to the agricultural practices of the time, if so did his view change due to his time spent in Walden?

[7 1 Hermit]

I found this conversation between Hermit and Poet very interesting and it raised several questions. First, I am curious on who exactly is “hermit” and who is the “poet” because Thoreau would be considered both. This makes me wonder if there is another person he consistently talks with or if this is two versions of himself. I also was curious why paragraph 5 starts with “hermit alone”. Along with this, I wonder the significance of adding these sections at the beginning of “Brute Neighbors”.

This passage is so captivating. It feels like a good action movie, and yet, it’s part of a book! That’s so cool! Who would have thought I’d be so invested in ants fighting? This is why I’m curious how this paragraph changed across Thoreau’s versions. I want to know if he had to keep editing the passage so that the ant combat would make sense, and I want to know if he edited the passage to make it sound more dramatic or interesting. Plus, he has a lot of allusions in the passage like Achilles and the battle of Bunker Hill. Did those allusions come naturally to him, or did he include them later? If he included them later, what is the purpose of adding them? Was he trying to sound educated, or did he think they would make the passage easier to understand? I have so many questions!

This is a great question, Ashley! This revision illustrates the value of comparing the fluid-text transcription against the manuscript itself. It appears that Thoreau hasn’t stricken the thought in the words he’s crossed out but simply re-worded it, and that the new words are meant to replace the original. Have a look at manuscript image 714 in HM924, the Huntington’s collection of Walden MS leaves, particularly the section of the image below.