2008•The New England QuarterlyRequires access
Discordant Correspondence in Ralph Waldo Emerson's “Friendship”
Thomas Constantinesco
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Abstract
In “Friendship,” Ralph Waldo Emerson conceives of friendship as correspondence, thus reflecting his own practice of epistolary friendship. Within the essay, however, friendship by correspondence serves to keep all friends at bay and protects the writing subject from grieving their deaths and succumbing to his desire for them.