Reflection on "Sounding Walden Pond" »

Walden Pond, the source of Walden’s name and the landmark of Thoreau’s home in the woods, is argued by Markus Poetzsch in his article, “Sounding Walden Pond: The Depths and ‘Double Shadows’ of Thoreau’s Autobiographical Symbol,” to be a critical piece to the text both “spatially . . . and metaphorically” (Poetzsch 387). Poetzsch examines Walden and it’s philosophies, building from peers and off of the text, examining the relationship of the pond to the experiment and to Thoreau’s philosophy. 

Poetzsch’s article references a number of other studies and theories, placing us within the larger discussion of the pond. It is in this larger discussion that we see a similarity of opinion, a pattern of the pond described as, what Poetzsch calls, “a locus and reflection of spiritual rebirth and ethical reform” (387). Richard Prud’Homme in his article, “Walden’s Economy of Living” espouses this, relating the experience that Thoreau has with Walden Pond as a “natural baptism” (120), a “reflecting surface in which one might find oneself” (119). The pond becomes more than just a natural feature or means of self-sufficiency, it becomes a symbol and a means of change. 

We see this importance in Walden in Thoreau’s experiences with the pond. Thoreau describes the pond as “a perfect forest mirror . . . in which all impurity presented to it sinks” (Thoreau 178). The pond is playing multiple roles, it’s both a literal mirror, and a source of purity. 

In the role of the mirror, the pond is a reference point for Thoreau in which he can reflect upon his situation and himself. The pond mirrors the sky, “it is earth’s eye” (Thoreau 176), it places Thoreau between earth and heaven and causes him to reflect on the matter. Thoreau states that “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads” (266). The pond reflects not only Thoreau’s environment but Thoreau himself, and what he sees is what Poetzsch calls, “a superimposition of two shadowy reflections, two unsubstantial selves” (389). These reflections on the water are giving Thoreau multiple perspectives, different ways of viewing and perceiving the world and himself in order to gain a better hold on reality. Reality is vital for Thoreau, in Walden he states that “Be it life or death, we crave only reality” (92), and so the role of the pond in giving him perspective in the reality of his surroundings and himself is crucial. 

Poetzsch argues that “the pond represents more than a mirror of the physical world; it is an inner pool of thought, an element of mental topography in which the author’s self is realized and reified” (388). The pond is a means of Thoreau practicing transcendentalism, the pond is a symbol of purity and reflection that lends a new perspective of Thoreau himself and of reality through nature. The purity of the pond is a point that Thoreau repeatedly makes claims at, calling it a “clear and deep green well” (166). The reality that Thoreau craves Poetzsch relates to the depth and purity of the pond, and how the pond is complex. The pond is described as bottomless or infinite, and Poetzsch claims that the infinite “becomes the ultimate reality, and Walden Pond serves at once as the manifestation of that reality and the medium through which it is apprehended” (393). Thoreau understands that the pond is not bottomless, in fact he sounded the pond and found it’s depth, but the pond takes on a symbolic bottomlessness. Thoreau’s experience with the depth and purity of the pond further lends to the mode of the transcendental experience, and understanding the ways in which Thoreau experiences them is important not only in understanding Walden but for preparing and executing the experiment of Project Walden.

Poetzsch’s analysis and examination of the role of Walden Pond in relation to Walden has brought up important points for Project Walden. Project Walden will require a keen awareness and reflection of one’s reality, both in terms of the surroundings and one’s self. By having an awareness and perception of one’s self, you can then graph and view the changes to one’s self, to one’s character. The means of which is found through one’s senses and from multiple perspectives through the natural domain. Project Walden may not have a large body of water in which to call it’s own, but the natural environment and a conscious awareness will suffice. It will be an experiment to see if you can find depth and purity in parts of nature other than a body of water, to find the the purity and depth of Walden Pond in the entirety of nature and to see if it can lend it’s properties to those that observe it.

Works Cited

Poetzsch, Markus. "Sounding Walden Pond: The Depths And "Double Shadows" Of Thoreau's Autobiographical Symbol." Atq 22.2 (2008): 387-401. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004. Print.