Gifts

Emerson has a lot to say about gifts. Reading over this essay, entitled Gifts, a certain thought struck me. The first time I read through the essay I simply assumed Emerson was talking about tangible gifts. But after reading it through a second time I realized that he could also mean gifts that our intangible such as love and kindness, so that is something we must take into account when reading the Gifts essay.

According to Emerson gifts should be given without expecting anything in return. They should be given from the heart, out of your true “giving spirit”, not because they gave you a gift and you feel in debt to them.

This concept got me thinking…what did Emerson think about birthday gifts? In essence, birthday gifts sort of have to be given or else in today’s society you are seen as rude or stingy even. And most of the time, regardless of if the person you are giving the birthday gift to gave you one or not, you usually give birthday gifts! So I wonder what Emerson would think of this. It is a tradition, but it kind of breaks his ideal model of gift giving.

Anyways, back to how gifts should be giving. The only gifts that our given should be those that are a necessity. Emerson poses the question, what good is it to give a man that needs shoes a paint box.

We should also give gifts that represent a portion of ourselves. If we give someone a ring, than it is really giving that person the gift of the jeweler, not the gift of you own work. This idea also contradicts the theory of necessary gifts, because back to the first example, with the man that needed shoes, if you yourself aren’t a shoemaker than is it wrong to by him a pair of shoes, because they are the work of the shoemaker not of yourself? Perhaps what Emerson is saying is that unnecessary gifts, if given, should be of your own work, and with necessary gifts its allowable to purchase gifts that have been created because of the work of someone else.

Gifts should be received without emotion, because according to Emerson, some violence is done when you rejoice or grieve over a gift. If you grieve over a gift, it is insulting because the giver does not know your true spirit. And if you rejoice over a gift, you are showing that you love the gift more than the giver. This leaves us in a predicament because Emerson doesn’t really leave us with a correct way to receive gifts, he only instructs us not to grieve nor rejoice, which would leave us with no emotion, since all emotions stem from those two.

Emerson brings up interesting social commentary in his essay Gifts. I think the main point he is trying to get across here is that gifts should be given from the heart, and when received should be seen as the effort and thought behind the gift rather than the actual gift itself.

The best “Emersonian” gift I ever received was a rock with “better rock” written in sloppy kindergartener handwriting on it. My brother gave it to me when I was sick, and I told him it would be cool if there were a rock you could hold when you were sick that would make you better. Sure enough, with in 10 minutes, I had my own, unique, meaningful healing rock. The gift was hand-made, connective, and necessary, really fitting in Emerson’s guidelines. This silly little rock now, is something I cherish more than most any other store-bought gift I have ever received.