Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Rachel Carson
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
===Relationship with Dorothy Freeman=== Carson met Dorothy M. Freeman in the summer of 1953 on [[Southport, Maine|Southport Island, Maine]]. Freeman had written to Carson welcoming her to the area when she had heard that the famous author was to become her neighbor. It was the beginning of a devoted friendship that lasted the rest of Carson's life. Their relationship was conducted mainly through letters and during summers spent together in Maine. Over 12 years, they exchanged around 900 letters. Many of these were published in the book ''Always, Rachel'', published in 1995 by [[Beacon Press]]. Carson's biographer, [[Linda J. Lear]], writes that "Carson sorely needed a devoted friend and kindred spirit who would listen to her without advising and accept her wholly, the writer as well as the woman."<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|p=248}}</ref> She found this in Freeman. The two women had common interests, nature chief among them, and began exchanging letters regularly while apart. They shared summers for the remainder of Carson's life and met whenever else their schedules permitted.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=243β288}}</ref> Concerning the depth of their relationship, commentators have said: "the expression of their love was limited almost wholly to letters and very occasional farewell kisses or holding of hands".<ref>{{cite journal|author=Montefiore, Janet|title='The fact that possesses my imagination': Rachel Carson, Science and Writing|journal=Women: A Cultural Review|volume=12|issue=1|page=48|year=2001|doi=10.1080/09574040110034110|s2cid=161571630}}</ref> Freeman shared parts of Carson's letters with her husband to help him understand the relationship, but much of their correspondence was carefully guarded.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=255β256}}</ref> Some believe Freeman and Carson's relationship was romantic in nature.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/deliberate-pace-rachel-carson/|title=A Deliberate Pace: On Rachel Carson|last=Gornick|first=Vivian|journal=The Nation|date=February 19, 2013|access-date=August 5, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0027-8378}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/26/the-right-way-to-remember-rachel-carson|title=The Right Way to Remember Rachel Carson|last=Lepore|first=Jill|magazine=The New Yorker|date=March 19, 2018|access-date=August 5, 2019|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref> One of the letters from Carson to Freeman reads: "But, oh darling, I want to be with you so terribly that it hurts!", while in another, Freeman writes: "I love you beyond expression... My love is boundless as the Sea."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/01/13/rachel-carson-dorothy-freeman-letters/|title=Rachel Carson's Touching Farewell to Her Dearest Friend and Beloved|last=Popova|first=Maria|date=January 13, 2017|website=Brain Pickings|language=en-US|access-date=August 5, 2019}}</ref> Carson's last letter to Freeman before her death ends with: "Never forget, dear one, how deeply I have loved you all these years."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Year 135 β 1995: Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952β1964 {{!}} 150 Years in the Stacks |url=https://libraries.mit.edu/150books/2011/05/21/1995/ |access-date=August 5, 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> Shortly before Carson's death, she and Freeman destroyed hundreds of letters. The surviving correspondence was published in 1995 as ''Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952β1964: An Intimate Portrait of a Remarkable Friendship'', edited by Martha Freeman, Dorothy's granddaughter, who wrote at publication: "A few comments in early letters indicate that Rachel and Dorothy were initially cautious about the romantic tone and terminology of their correspondence. I believe this caution prompted their destruction of some letters within the first two years of their friendship..."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carson |first1=Rachel |title=Always, Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952β1964 |last2=Freeman |first2=Dorothy |last3=Freeman |first3=Martha E. |publisher=Beacon Press |year=1994 |location=Boston |pages=XVI |language=en-us}}</ref> According to one reviewer, the pair "fit [[Carolyn Heilbrun]]'s characterization of a strong female friendship, where what matters is 'not whether friends are homosexual or heterosexual, lovers or not, but whether they share the wonderful energy of work in the public sphere.'"<ref>{{cite journal |author=Tjossem |first=Sarah F. |year=1995 |title=Review of ''Always Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952β1964'' |journal=Isis |volume=86 |issue=4 |pages=687β688 |doi=10.1086/357392}} quoting from: {{cite book |author=Heilbrun, Carolyn |title=Writing a Woman's Life |publisher=Ballantine |year=1988 |isbn=0-345-36256-X |page=108}}</ref> According to her biographer, [[Linda Lear]], there was a disagreement about the final arrangements for Rachel. Her brother, Robert Carson, insisted that her cremated remains be buried beside their mother in Maryland. This was against her wishes to be buried in Maine. In the end, a compromise was reached. Carson's wishes were carried out by an organizing committee, including her agent (Marie Rodell), her editor (Paul Brooks), and Dorothy Freeman. In the spring of 1964, Dorothy received half of Rachel's ashes in the mail sent to her by Robert Carson. In the summer of that year, Dorothy carried out Rachel's final wishes, scattering her ashes along the rocky shores of Sheepscot Bay in Maine.<ref>{{harvnb|Lear|1997|pp=482β483}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)