Sophia Ripley
Encyclopedia
Sophia Willard Dana Ripley (1803–1861), wife of George Ripley, was a 19th-century feminist associated with Transcendentalism
and the Brook Farm
community.
, they established a girl's school; Sophia Dana served as the principal teacher.
She first met George Ripley during his final year as a student at the Harvard Divinity School
in 1825. In 1826, they became engaged, though Ripley did not tell his parents right away. He asked his sister Marianne to inform them, assuring them that their relationship was not based on "any romantic or sudden passion" but on "intellectual power, moral worth, deep and true Christian piety, and refinement and dignity of character". They were officially married on August 22, 1827, in a ceremony presided over by Abiel Holmes
.
Mrs. Ripley became a friend of Margaret Fuller
and was one of the women to attend Fuller's first series of "conversations". Fuller explained to Ripley her goals: "It is to pass in review the departments of thought and knowledge, and endeavor to place them in due relation to one another in our mind. To systemize thought and give precision and clearness in which are sex are so deficient, chiefly, I think, because they have so few inducements to test and classify what they receive. To ascertain what pursuits are best suited to us". Ripley was also among the few regular women guests of the male-dominated Transcendental Club
in the 1830s, and she published an essay on women in The Dial
. In July 1841, she The Dial published a letter from Ripley called "Letter from Zoar", an account of her experience visiting a communistic society of "Separatists" in Zoar, Ohio
in 1837.
In the 1840s she co-founded an experimental Utopian community called Brook Farm
along with her husband and was one of the experiment's major supporters in its early years. Along with her sister-in-law Marianne Ripley, she oversaw Brook Farm's primary school using a progressive child-centered pedagogy
that has been compared to the later reforms of John Dewey
. When Brook Farm adapted itself into a Charles Fourier
-inspired phalanstère
, she did not share her husband's enthusiasm. Influenced in part by Orestes Brownson
, she converted to Catholicism
in 1846 and became a dedicated member of the church; her husband never converted. Their relationship became strained by the 1850s. She died in 1861.
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
and the Brook Farm
Brook Farm
Brook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education, was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s...
community.
Biography
She was born Sophia Willard Dana in 1803. Her father traveled abroad often and left his daughters to fend for themselves. In 1823, during one of his trips, the Dana sisters decided to earn their own living by teaching. In Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, they established a girl's school; Sophia Dana served as the principal teacher.
She first met George Ripley during his final year as a student at the Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
in 1825. In 1826, they became engaged, though Ripley did not tell his parents right away. He asked his sister Marianne to inform them, assuring them that their relationship was not based on "any romantic or sudden passion" but on "intellectual power, moral worth, deep and true Christian piety, and refinement and dignity of character". They were officially married on August 22, 1827, in a ceremony presided over by Abiel Holmes
Abiel Holmes
Abiel Holmes was an American Congregational clergyman and historian in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He was the father of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. and grandfather of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.....
.
Mrs. Ripley became a friend of Margaret Fuller
Margaret Fuller
Sarah Margaret Fuller Ossoli, commonly known as Margaret Fuller, was an American journalist, critic, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. She was the first full-time American female book reviewer in journalism...
and was one of the women to attend Fuller's first series of "conversations". Fuller explained to Ripley her goals: "It is to pass in review the departments of thought and knowledge, and endeavor to place them in due relation to one another in our mind. To systemize thought and give precision and clearness in which are sex are so deficient, chiefly, I think, because they have so few inducements to test and classify what they receive. To ascertain what pursuits are best suited to us". Ripley was also among the few regular women guests of the male-dominated Transcendental Club
Transcendental Club
The Transcendental Club was a group of New England intellectuals of the early-to-mid-19th century which gave rise to Transcendentalism.-Overview:...
in the 1830s, and she published an essay on women in The Dial
The Dial
The Dial was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. In the 1880s it was revived as a political magazine...
. In July 1841, she The Dial published a letter from Ripley called "Letter from Zoar", an account of her experience visiting a communistic society of "Separatists" in Zoar, Ohio
Zoar, Ohio
Zoar is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 193 at the 2000 census.-History:Zoar was founded by German religious dissenters called the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1817. It was a communal society, with many German-style structures that have been restored and...
in 1837.
In the 1840s she co-founded an experimental Utopian community called Brook Farm
Brook Farm
Brook Farm, also called the Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or the Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education, was a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the 1840s...
along with her husband and was one of the experiment's major supporters in its early years. Along with her sister-in-law Marianne Ripley, she oversaw Brook Farm's primary school using a progressive child-centered pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
that has been compared to the later reforms of John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
. When Brook Farm adapted itself into a Charles Fourier
Charles Fourier
François Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
-inspired phalanstère
Phalanstère
A phalanstère was a type of building designed for an utopian community and developed in the early 19th century by Charles Fourier. Based on the idea of a phalanx, this self-contained community ideally consisted of 1500-1600 people working together for mutual benefit...
, she did not share her husband's enthusiasm. Influenced in part by Orestes Brownson
Orestes Brownson
Orestes Augustus Brownson was a New England intellectual and activist, preacher, labor organizer, and noted Catholic convert and writer...
, she converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in 1846 and became a dedicated member of the church; her husband never converted. Their relationship became strained by the 1850s. She died in 1861.