The Frontispiece In Walt Whitman's Work

A cold stare, and a hand on his hip, is how Walt Whitman introduced himself to his readers in 1855. The style of Whitman’s frontispiece was uncommon for its time, a man with a loose collar and a worn hat would have been found more commonly on a farm than adorning a literary scholar in the mid-nineteenth century. Whitman wanted to show that he was no better than anyone who would read his poetry. Whitman conveyed himself to his audience by showing himself as an everyday workingman; his wrinkled shirt shows that he is use to working hard for everything that he has. The stare he gives back to his audience looks as if he is examining the reader the same way they may be examining him or his work.

Whitman looks very strong, but also graceful in

this image. The strength he shows challenges the stereotypes of who and what he was, even today, when examining the meaning of his poetry. Walt Whitman’s poetry shows him as an intelligent man, but also as a homosexual, which was very rare and went against the social mores of the time. The stereotypes placed around homosexuals made them seem weak and dainty, although these stereotypes are false. Through this frontispiece the strength and ruggedness of Whitman comes through. Whitman was in tune with his surroundings and not ashamed of his love even if others would not be able to accept it. “I am what I am; Hours of torment- I wonder if other men ever have the like, out of the like feelings? Is there even one other like me-distracted–his friend, his lover, lost to him?”(Pg. 2204) Live Oak, with Moss is truly about love and loss. The love, and even the loss are emotions that all humans can understand because everyone one will eventually lose someone they love. The theme of the poems is easily understandable for both homosexual and heterosexual people; this is because the poems are not exclusively about homosexual acts but more about the longing of missing a loved one. The longing for another person is a theme that transcends time.
“Take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men; go freely with the powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and mothers, of families” this is the message that his frontispiece was meant to communicate. Whitman’s hat, which is slightly cocked to the left in his portrait, seems to be out of place for a man who was educated to the level that he was. Other contemporaries of Whitman would have included a frontispiece where they were dressed in exquisite clothing of the highest quality, pressed and steamed. Whitman wanted to appear gentle, and not stiff; in doing this he would be able to reach more readers who would have seen him as a common man, the same way they may have viewed their neighbor. Whitman bridged the gap between the country and the city, “The big doors of the country-barn stand open and ready, the dried grass of the harvest-time loads the slow-drawn wagon”(Pg. 2152), he used images, in his writings, that both those in the country and the city would understand. He used images of the country but in a language that was beautiful and refined, like the educated of the city.
Margaret Fuller also chose to use a unique frontispiece, which left contemporaries scratching their heads.

The frontispiece that she chose was one of her hero, Emily Plater. The portrait of Plater, like that of Whitman, shows a soft face on a strong individual. Plater shows noble qualities miring images that bring to mind powerful monarchs. A sword is sheathed on her hip, in a pose of peace, but a hand is on the hilt showing her ability and willingness to use the weapon if need be. Plater had obtained notoriety by fighting in battles for Lithuania against the Russians. She was so successful that she even rose to the rank of Captain. Although, Plater was battle tested, Fuller’s portrait shows a softer side of Plater. Her large eyes and flowing hair speak to the morality, beauty and virtue that were expected of women during the 1800s. A woman’s purity was supposed to be respected, and also protected. The voting rights of women were not in effect in the united states during the time of Fuller, the morality a woman had was expected to be seen through the husband and sons who could

vote.
Margret Fuller was drawn to Plater and her experiences because she represented a strong woman in a male dominated world. Plater proved to Fuller that women could be powerful while still obtaining their femininity. Fuller said “The especial genius of women I believe to be electrical in movement, intuitive in function, spiritual in tendency.”(Pg.1635) This quote shows the moral statues of women, they were ideally moral and spiritual.
“And will not she soon appear?

The woman who shall vindicate their birthright for all women; who shall teach them what to claim, and how to use what they obtain?” This quote is what fuller was calling on women to be. Fuller found her model through Plater because she was headstrong and capable, and fuller wanted these attributes to be common in all women. Fuller being a Transcendentalist, thought the women would be able to transform themselves from what they were and how they were seen, into ideal citizens who deserved the respect from everyone. Fuller was even able to see this change happening "All men are privately influenced by women; each has his wife, sister, or female friends, and is too much biased by these relations to fail of representing their interests."(Pg. 1629) She knew that it was inevitable to keep women out of the structure of influence within American society. Her thinking and influence was what brought about reforms such as women’s

suffrage.
Ideally, both Whitman and Fuller were trying to change the statues quoi of what it meant to be a writer in the mid-nineteenth century. The use of the frontispiece was a way to welcome the audience who may not have ever been introduced to the author before. They both used images that asked people to change, either to change there prospective on what a strong man or a strong woman looked like. They both also used these images to break down stereotypes or social stigmas that permeated throughout there day, like that of the weak homosexual or the weak virtues woman.