Sarah Hester had been one of the more unusual figures in Nineteenth century literature. The interest in this work is therefore as much about her as the book itself. Her poems and stories have often been linked to the Transcendentalist movement, but in retrospect this connection seems weak. The similarities included an Eastern mystical influence and abolitionism. However the similarities tended to end there.
The differences had been more profound. Despite being from New England she had a curiously non-American outlook. She had spent much of her adult life in China. She went to teach those orphaned by the Opium Wars. This experience deepened her pacifism, but she stayed for what may be termed spiritual reasons. Indeed, on returning to the U.S. she declared she had converted to a philosophical school of Taoism. Her works showed more an influence from Chinese culture, reformism, and pacifism than anything else. She knew few Transcendentalists, and her relations with the ones she did know had been poor. The only confirmed link is with Emerson. After initially cordial relations she denounced him for his praise of John Brown. Her pacifism made her reject in strong terms the use of violence even in the cause of abolition. This made the Civil War hard on her.
Her final years saw her increasingly isolated and miserable. Her siblings suffered a series of misfortunes, and a favorite aunt died. The Civil War made this far worse. She made it clear she disapproved of the Union for its treatment of the Indians and its reluctance to make the war about abolition. Had she lived a few more months she may have withdrawn that objection. It perhaps goes without saying that she had even less love for the Confederacy. These things brought her ostracism, but she apparently also had a tendency to draw into herself. She began speaking of herself as a Taoist hermit. She found no joy in this though, and the battle of Shiloh destroyed what little hope for humanity she had left. A week after hearing of it she committed suicide by throwing herself into the mouth of a whale. How she accomplished this remains somewhat disputed, but the fact she did is confirmed by all available evidence.
The novel’s description might sound unsurprising when you consider these things. It highlights her pacifism, Taoism, respect for all races, and introspection. In most aspects though, the novel was and still is an unexpected achievement. First, Ms Hester never wrote novels and claimed to have read only three in her entire life. Second, she had made it clear she did not want this book to be published. In her suicide note she even went so far as to ask that the book be burned. Instead, her sister Rebecca kept it at her house, but made no effort to publish it. Interest in it became strong, but until Rebecca’s death in 1903 it remained unpublished. That explains why a book written in 1859 can just now be having its centennial edition.
The story itself was also quite unusual. It is about, or appears to be about, a woman from a benign future wandering across the state of Maine. Her internal monologue states that her “silence” had been caused by her future using only non-verbal communications. Her opinion of the people she meets, some of whom were based on the author’s neighbors in York, tends toward pity and disdain. Their behavior make this understandable, but at times her condescension grates. Later she fails to save a fugitive slave trying to escape to Canada and so abandons humanity altogether to a retreat in the woods. Despite the author’s clear preference for this character;’s imagined future, and agreement with her principles, there is a strong sense that she does not approve of all these actions or behaviors.
As for the other characters — in an unusual move — few of them even acknowledge she exists. Those who do pay her any attention tend to feel as much pity for her as she does for them. The kindest treatment she receives comes from a Congregational minister named Andrew Neve. He may have been the best drawn character in the book aside from the title character. He may also be, without exception, the most sympathetic person in the story. This has perplexed many as the author had a well known anti-clerical streak, and disliked Congregationalist ministers in particular. So much so that his role had been seen as a sign that the book had been a fraud, but this theory can be safely discounted. Her friendship with one minister has been confirmed, likely the inspiration for the character, and the mention of the novel in the suicide note has been proved to be genuine.
A final note on the story, there is in fact good reason to doubt almost everything in the description I gave. Many readers feel the title character is not from the future at all, and her “memories” of the future had been mere delusions caused by trauma. This can be supported by the work. The novel does not explain how or even why she travelled into the past. The future she described also sounded like pure wish-fulfillment even when factoring the utopian fiction of the age. Further, the character has fears of the ocean and alcohol which have no explanation in the “future life” she described. They might, however, connect to the author’s real life. Her brother became insane after his wife died, and he reportedly had delusions of ruling a magical utopia. Further, her father had been abusive, alcoholic, and a whaler.
Other characters may also be more symbolic of her own life. Many feel the minister’s kindness had an ulterior sexual element, as some believe she had an affair with her minister friend. However this seems unsupportable from the text and even her alleged affair lacks evidence. However the idea the town’s people may have actually been quite interested in her might be more supportable. At times the lack of attention they show the title character seems bizarre. So bizarre it paradoxically implies she brought them great distress. This would be the most true in the middle sections. In those sections she ran through the town naked in the afternoon, went into their homes to free caged animals, and danced on their roofs without them acknowledging her. This seems almost similar to the way Ms Hester herself had clearly been a town celebrity, but one that everyone tried to ignore. Later the slavers that come to take the fugitive drew some attention for attacking her, but the town’s focus is on their action not her injuries. The only exception to that being the minister.
Final mention should be made of the features of the hundredth anniversary edition. It contains extensive notes on her background and her influences. These notes have some odd features. It implies connection between her and the thinking of figures in the Later Han Dynasty Taoist movements. This seems unlikely due to her disinterest in them according to all records. The few statements she made regarding them showed disdain for them as fanatics. Still even considering such flaws as a whole it is good to see this unusual novel back in print.
Well in some Universe anyway.
Copyright © 2003 by Thomas R.
