At first, when given the assignment to relate Frances Wright to Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass, I thought to myself, dear lord how am I going to relate this historical figure to a man of such modern intellectual capability? However I wrongly jumped to conclusions, and now I must redeem my previous statement by saying that Frances Wright believed in and acted upon many of the same issues as Whitman. In fact, Whitman was incredibly influenced by her writings, teaching and preachings, and according to one source, “Wright's novel about a young disciple of Epicurus would later be called by Walt Whitman his "daily food."
Frances (or Fanny) Wright praised America’s experiments in democracy, (as did Whitman) supported the abolition of slavery, (as did Whitman) promoted her own dress code (as did Whitman) and last but not least she encouraged sexual freedom, needless to say, as did Whitman. She stood for the primordial notions of personal freedom, and although she was not as successful or well known as Walt she none the less played an instrumental role in paving the way for his mental, political and surely personal expansion.
The fact that she was a woman who embraced democracy, supported a more “provocative” dress code (showing ankles and even knees!) and advocated sexual freedom makes her a truly pivotal feminine character during her time period, and also makes her umpteen times more fascinating. When knowing what she stood for, it is easy to see her direct influence upon Whitman’s work, for her “Views of Society and Manners in America” is noticeable in “Chants Democratic” in Leaves of Grass and so on. So although I could go on for a while and bore you about her similarities to Whitman, I rather leave you with the notion that through the combination of her political insight and strife for personal emancipation, Fanny Wright may be the original “Free, fresh, savage.”
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