Transcendental Wild Oats (1873)

KEYWORDS: food, diet, animals, land usage, women's rights, Fruitlands

SUMMARY (Bryn Skibo, edited Deborah Madsen):

Alcott offers a satirical reimagining of life at Fruitlands, based on her own experiences as a young girl. Though the characters have invented names, the character list in the beginning of the story makes clear upon which historical figure each character is based. The choice of phrasing, particularly in dialogues, draws heavily upon the account of the ethical vegan philosophy of Fruitlands offered in "The Consociate Family Life" (1843). In some respects, “Transcendental Wild Oats" is a satire specifically on this text. Despite the conseqent irony with which it is suffused, the narrative is an insightful portrait of routine daily life at Fruitlands.

The story opens with the “pilgrimage” to Fruitlands and discussions about starting a new community, a “Paradise,” which is “intended to adorn the pastures with orchards, and to supersede the labor of cattle by the spade and pruning-knife” (150, 149). However, the narrator draws attention to the “delapidated barn” and mere “ten ancient apple-trees” (149). Notably, the housewife (Abba Alcott) is described as “unconverted but faithful to the end” (150), and she asks questions that are more in line with her interests in domestic happiness than spiritual fulfillment. As the “pilgrims” sit around the fire and discuss their future plans, their leader, “Dictator Lion” (Charles Lane) sets out their day, which includes waking up early, bathing, playing music, eating bread and fruit for breakfast, and working on the farm. The wife, Sister Hope (Mrs. Lamb / Abba Alcott), asks what kind of labor Brother Timon (Brother Lamb / Bronson Alcott) will do but, as he tells her, “Being in preference to doing is the great aim, and this comes to us rather by a resigned willingness than a willful activity …” (155). His response is a direct quotation from the conclusion of "The Consociate Family Life" and Mr. Lamb follows this letter by explicitly refusing tea, coffee, wine, and the consumption of flesh that would require “subjugat[ing] cattle" when he cannot “claim property in a created thing” (155). So when Mrs. Lamb and the children retire for the night, they are said to leave "the founders of the ‘Consociate Family’ to build castles in the air till the fire went out and the symposium ended in smoke” (156).

When the furniture and household goods are delivered, the narrator provides a list of Mrs Lamb’s items. Notably, “No milk, butter, cheese, tea, or meat appeared. Even salt was considered a useless luxury and spice entirely forbidden by these lovers of Spartan simplicity. A ten years’ experience of vegetarian vagaries had been good training for this new freak, and her sense of the ludicrous supported her through many trying scenes” (156-57). Their daily menu is listed as: “Unleavened bread, porridge, and water for breakfast; bread, vegetables, and water for dinner; bread, fruit, and water for supper was the bill of fare ordained by the ministers” (157). One new member, Jane Gage, is caught eating the tail of a fish (and sneaking milk and cheese) and is publicly reprimanded, causing her to leave the community (162-164). The use of animal products (including manure) is forbidden, as is the exploitation of animal labor; however, a team of oxen (one of them turns out to be a cow) are used after the first week, when the men realize that tilling the land is hard work (158). The refusal of animal products extends to dress: the narrator describes the new “fashion” of Fruitlands that consists of brown linen tunics for men and women, with the women’s tunics being slightly longer and their straw hat brims slightly wider (164).

At the end of the summer, the men follow their inspirations away from the farm, leaving Mrs. Hope and the children to bring in the harvest (there is very little); when the inadequate amount of food is made known, the men including Timon leave for other communities (e.g. the Shakers) and the Hope family is left without food, friends, or money after giving everything they had to “the experiment” (167-168). At the end, it seems the experiment has entirely failed; however, despite the ironic tone the narrator praises the efforts of those who have tried: “The world was not ready for Utopia yet, and those who attempted to found it only got laughed at for their pains. In other days, men could sell all and give to the poor, lead lives devoted to holiness and high thought, and, after the persecution was over, find themselves honored as saints or martyrs. But in modern times these things are out of fashion. To live for one’s principles, at all costs, is a dangerous speculation; and the failure of an ideal, no matter how humane and noble, is harder for the world to forgive and forget than bank robbery or the grand swindles of corrupt politicians” (169).

Last updated on June 14th, 2024

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