The Transformative Power of Nature  Theme Analysis

In “Nature,” Emerson stresses that while humankind used to enjoy a close, pure, harmonious connection to nature, this is no longer the case. Individuals and society as a whole have become corrupted, largely because people have become disconnected from their own intuition, spirituality, and sense of morality. But Emerson suggests that nature can heal humanity on both small and large scales. This starts on an individual level: if people spend more time in nature, it will revitalize and enlighten them, and this positive transformation will ripple out to the rest of society.

Writing in the mid-1830s in the U.S., Emerson suggests that corruption abounds on both the societal and individual level. Throughout the essay, Emerson underscores that nature teaches people moral and spiritual truths, if only people use their intuition (what Emerson calls “Reason”) to recognize and absorb these lessons. But people have grown physically and emotionally distant from nature—moving out of the countryside and to the increasingly industrialized cities, for instance—and so they’ve consequently lost touch with this key source of moral and spiritual guidance. Emerson writes that the average person’s “mind is imbruted and he is a selfish savage.” Drawing on the ideas of Transcendentalist writer Amos Bronson Alcott (whom Emerson refers to in the essay as the “Orphic poet”), Emerson explains that humans have corrupting desires—like the desire for wealth, power, pleasure, or praise—and that giving in to those desires further disconnect people from nature. Living in a society that’s physically set apart from nature and ungrounded in the kind of moral and spiritual truth that nature provides destroys a person’s wholeness. And this separates them even further from other people, nature, morality, spirituality, and their own selves.

Given that humankind’s growing distance from nature is responsible for this widespread corruption, Emerson suggests that it’s only through interacting with nature directly that people can better themselves, becoming more energized, happier, and wiser. Unlike society, nature has a rejuvenating effect on people. Emerson suggests that people who spend time in nature “retain[] the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.” In other words, even as a person grows old, their spirit stays young; they still possess a childlike energy, curiosity, and reverence when they live in close proximity to nature. Emerson uses the metaphor of a snake sloughing off its dead skin—revealing fresh, tender skin beneath—to illustrate how a person casts off their old age and is renewed in nature. “In the woods,” Emerson writes, “is perpetual youth.” Nature is also a source of joy, wonder, and emotional bliss. Throughout the essay, Emerson draws on his own experiences in nature. Each time, he uses joyful, emotionally charged language to describe his emotions. While he’s in the countryside, he “enjoy[s] a perfect exhilaration,” and admits, “Almost I fear to think how glad I am.” Nature’s sheer beauty brings about emotional bliss and fulfillment, as it “satisfies the soul purely by its loveliness.” Another important aspect of nature is the deep sense of awe that it stirs up in a person. Emerson likens the dawn to the ancient Assyrian empire (known for its vastness, power, and splendor), the moonlight to “unimaginable realms of faerie,” and nighttime to “mystic philosophy and dreams.” Emerson links nature to magnificent, indescribable, awe-inspiring places and things to emphasize that nature shares those same qualities and incites a similar sense of wonder within him.

Being in nature is also a positive form of escapism from sadness and puts a person’s day-to-day struggles into perspective. He explains how if a person were to be alone in nature and look up at the stars, the starlight “will separate between him and vulgar things” (in Emerson’s time, “vulgar” meant common, day-to-day things). Likewise, he suggests that when a person ventures out into nature, “a wild delight runs through [them], in spite of real sorrows.” With this, Emerson suggests that while a person may have very real problems in their life, nature has a bolstering, invigorating effect and can help a person put their problems into perspective. Taking this a step further, Emerson suggests that nature can even heal or solve a person’s problems. Speaking from his own experience, he writes, “In the woods [...] I feel that nothing can befall me in life—no disgrace, no calamity [...] which nature cannot repair.” Nature also provides crucial moral guidance. To illustrate this point, Emerson gives the example of a fisherman who learns “firmness” (i.e., strength of character) while out at sea: though the ocean waves crash forcefully over the rocks again and again, the rocks remain unmoved.

In the essay’s final chapter, Emerson stresses that the only way to return the world to its former utopia (in which humankind and nature lived in harmony) is through “redemption of the soul.” In other words, people need to become whole again on an individual level before the wider world can be redeemed, and this kind of personal transformation only happens in nature.