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The Thomas Jefferson Discussion Group
of Orlando, Florida
Meeting No. 10 - February 2002
Chapters Bookstore, Orlando, Florida
THIS MONTH'S TOPIC: VALENTINE'S DAY - JEFFERSON'S HEAD AND HEART
A discussion of Mr. Jefferson's long struggle between logic and emotion. The genius stoic achiever vs. the man with a deeply buried bundle of feelings.
Some suggested discussion points:
- Burning all the letters between Martha and himself after her death. (He didn't want us to know this part of his emotional side.) Compare John Adams.
- Compare to the beautiful letters to his children he wanted us to have. The love expressed between a father and his children was okay.
- The "head and heart" letter itself - a way to document his manhood and the conflicts he experienced and/or a clever way to admit to this without going to far (an academic exercise!) - also, perhaps, comment on Sally and the guilt he felt in an oblique fashion.
- He seemed to often use his genius as a fortress to protect himself from being confronted with dealing with emotion - at least outwardly. And when falling victim to natural urges (sex, pride/ego/vanity), dealing with them quickly, analytically and moving on (so much work to do - seeds to plant, mould boards to invent, Indians to understand, colleges to design, freedom to define).
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