The Education of Laura Bridgman : First Deaf and Blind Person to Learn Language [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ Dr. Ernest Freeberg (Author) "In 1831, as New England entered its period of romantic flowering, Samuel Gridley Howe struck many Bostonians as their city's very own Byronic hero..." (more)
Key Phrases: other blind children, manual alphabet, blind students, Laura Bridgman, New England, Mary Swift (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Where Elisabeth Gitter emphasizes Laura Bridgman's intelligence in The Imprisoned Guest (see review, above), perhaps emphasizing it over the ingenuity of her teacher, Samuel Howe, Freeberg brings a more measured and clinical approach to the story of the deaf and dumb girl's education in 19th-century Boston. Freeberg, an assistant professor of humanities at Colby-Sawyer College, whose interest in Howe's experiment began as his dissertation, focuses in great detail on the scientific, theological and social debates of the day. He expertly details Howe's specific methods, influenced by liberal Unitarianism and phrenology, which turned "Laura's education into a showcase of `moral discipline'" so that he "might glean insights into the fundamental forces that shape human nature." He gives a marvelous, incisive explanation of Howe's reluctance to teach Laura about religion early on, allowing her to arrive at her own innate understanding of Goda plan that infuriated orthodox Calvinists who wanted to save her from original sin and that was ultimately foiled by Laura's insatiable curiosity and the interference of religious do-gooders. "Disillusioned" by this "crisis," Howe renounced his prior accomplishments with Laura. But while Freeberg surpasses Gitter's solid rendering of the 19th-century cultural climate, he does so at the expense of fully realizing his subjects' characters, merely nodding towards their personal lives. Ultimately, Freeberg presents an exhaustive and intriguing narrative, championing mid-1800s progressivism and one man's efforts to use it effectively. Readers interested in a straightforward yet subtle social history will delight in Freeberg's moderately paced, if anticlimactic, approach.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Left blind and deaf at the age of two, Laura Bridgman became a 19th-century celebrity as the prot g of Samuel Gridley Howe, who successfully taught her to use language. Both of these scholarly studies are based on primary sources and describe Bridgman's education firmly in the context of the social reform, educational, and religious movements of the time. Gitter (English, CUNY) offers more biographical information on Bridgman and Howe; Freeberg (humanities, Colby-Sawyer) emphasizes educational and philosophical theory. Scrutinized and manipulated much of her early life as the subject of educational theory, Bridgman nevertheless maintained a sense of self-assertiveness. Late in her life she met Helen Keller, then a child, who would entirely eclipse her fame. These two studies reveal as much about the motives of her teachers and the intellectual climate of the time as they do about Bridgman herself. Either title would be appropriate for academic collections in education or women's studies, but the writing is accessible and engaging enough for public libraries. Patricia A. Beaber, Coll. of New Jersey Lib., Ewing
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press; illustrated edition edition (May 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674005899
• ISBN-13: 978-0674005891
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,068,124 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Really Good Book, June 28, 2001

By	Rivkah Maccaby "Rivkah Maccaby" (Bloomington, IN United States) - See all my reviews

It's just delightful when something like this comes around. It's a page turner that isn't a paperback mystery. In fact, people who have heard of Laura Bridgman in the first place pretty much know how the story comes out. Freeberg has a taut and clear style that gives the information bones and ligaments, and he has done thorough research. There are photos and copies of things in Laura's handwriting that I have never seen before, and I have been in the field of disability all my adult life. I've read just about everything on Laura Bridgman and the Perkins school.

Freeberg did well in choosing to focus of Laura's education. The book would have been at least three times longer, and probably not as well organized had he tried to cover her entire life in one volume. By sticking just to the subject of her education, though, he shows use the brilliance of her teacher, Howe, who relied on instincts and experience, and made things up as he went along. And we see Laura's mind grow. In our day, the lay person is fairly familiar with the stages of human intellectual growth and development, and it is exciting to see how Laura is remediated for the things she missed because her communication skills were late in coming.

Freeberg is also respectful and gracious to his topic. Laura is a wonderful person in her own right. She is not Helen Keller's shadow. Helen Keller is a once-an-epoch genius. Laura was a bright and friendly woman, and I thank Freeberg for reminding us of this.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine, balanced treatment, November 27, 2001

By A Customer

Freeberg's dual biography of Laura Bridgman and Samuel Gridley Howe is far better reading than one would expect of a revised Ph.D. dissertation. Freeberg is clear in his exposition of philosophic and religious trends, and he is absolutely fair in his of treatment the old Calvinist orthodoxy and the evangelicalism of the Second Great Awakening. Having written a children's story about Laura Bridgman more than twenty-five years ago, I was already familiar with the outlines of this narrative, but I still learned much from Freeberg's study--as for instance, the connection between Unitarianism and phrenology and the robust evangelical reaction to Howe's tentative attempts to play God with Bridgman's soul.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid and informative read., October 25, 2002

By	D. Klevorn (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Buy this book before it goes out of print. Get The Imprisoned Guest as well. You won't be disappointed if you have any intrest in this brilliant and spirited lady!