Maria White Lowell (July 8, 1821 – October 27, 1853) was an American poet and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. Her poems were privately printed by her husband,

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that ri ...

, the poet, two years after her death.

Early life

Maria White was born in

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Watertown ...

, to a middle-class, intellectual family. She was raised under a strict

ascetic Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

discipline at an Ursuline convent which was burned by a mob in 1834.

Career

Lowell became involved in the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

and was a supporter of women's rights. On November 6, 1839, she was one of the local women who attended the first "conversation" organized by women's rights advocate

Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...

. The same year, Maria White's brother William introduced her to his

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

classmate,

. The two became engaged in the autumn of 1840. However, her father Abijah White, a wealthy merchant, insisted that the wedding be postponed until Lowell had gainful employment. In the winter of 1843-44, Maria White and her mother left the bleak neighborhood of Boston to spend the spring in the milder climate of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. It happened that they went to a

Friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

's boarding-house in the city, and through the kind interest of their hostess, "Friend Parker", made the acquaintance of others, who introduced the Whites into other Friend homes. The Whites had no knowledge of Quakerism, but their simple sincere natures found much in common with members of that religion who in turn enjoyed getting to know the Whites. Strong friendships followed, and as a natural result of these, Maria White's tendency towards the antislavery movement, then in its unpopular beginnings, was strengthened and continued. When the weather grew warmer, and the east winds of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

had lessened, the mother and daughter returned to Watertown. Maria White was urged to remain longer in Philadelphia, and visit some of her new friends in their own homes, but her reply was characteristic: "No, no. I have left one in Cambridge who makes even the east wind warm for me." She was referring to James Russell Lowell, her fiancé. Shortly after Lowell published ''Conversations on the Old Poets'', a collection of his previously published essays, the couple married on December 26, 1844 at her father's house. The new husband believed she was made up "half of earth and more than of Heaven". A friend described their relationship as "the very picture of a True Marriage". White, who become involved in movements against intemperance and slavery, joined the

Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society (1833–1840) was an abolitionist, interracial organization in Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. "During its brief history ... it orchestrated three national women's conventions, organized a mult ...

and persuaded Lowell to become an abolitionist. The new Mrs. Lowell, however, was in poor health and the couple moved to

shortly after their marriage in the hopes she would be healed there. In 1845, the newly married pair came again to Philadelphia, and it was arranged that Mr. Lowell would do some editorial work on the ''Pennsylvania'a Freeman'', an antislavery weekly of that city and also make regular contributions to the ''Antislavery Standard''. Before leaving Philadelphia, the Lowells had their

daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...

s taken by Langenheim. These were the only pictures taken in their early married life. In the spring of 1845, the Lowells returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts to make their home at Elmwood in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. They had four children, though only one survived past infancy. Their first, Blanche, was born December 31, 1845, but lived only fifteen months; Rose, born in 1849, survived only a few months as well; their only son, Walter, was born in 1850 but died in 1852. Only their fourth child, Mabel, survived to adulthood.

Death

Frail, delicate, and plagued by ill-health throughout her life, Maria White Lowell died on October 27, 1853, at the age of 32 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is buried with her husband in

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

. A volume of her poems was printed privately after her death (Cambridge, 1855). The best known of them are "The Alpine Shepherd" and "The Morning-Glory."

Critical response and influence

In 1870, when

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

first met

Thomas Wentworth Higginson Thomas Wentworth Higginson (December 22, 1823May 9, 1911) was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, politician, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with ...

, he mentioned the poetry of Maria White Lowell. Dickinson asked to know more and she may have been inspired by her work. One of Lowell's poems, "The Sick Room", has been described as "Dickinsonian". Her poem "The Grave of Keats" was published in the 1874 anthology ''Poems of Places'', edited by former neighbor

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

Amy Lowell Amy Lawrence Lowell (February 9, 1874 – May 12, 1925) was an American poet of the imagist school, which promoted a return to classical values. She posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926. Life Amy Lowell was born on Febru ...

, a descendant of the family, praised Maria Lowell's writing: "That is poetry! It is better than anything her husband ever wrote, and he always said that she was a better poet than he."

Quotes

* "Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one." – translated by Lowell from Bellinghausen's drama, "Der Sohn der Wildnis (1842)" into the play

Ingomar the Barbarian ''Ingomar, the Barbarian'' is a 1908 American silent short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It has been placed in the same genre as the theatrical toga play.Richards, Jeffrey"Review: ''Playing out the Empire: Ben-Hur and other Toga Plays ...

References

Attribution

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowell, Maria White 1821 births 1853 deaths American abolitionists 19th-century American poets Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery American temperance activists American women poets 19th-century American women writers