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Emerson's piece title “Romantics on the Mountain Top” creates a grand, loving, and adventurous image of nature. The title evokes a sense of romance towards the natural world, allowing readers to envision an indiviaul embracing its beauty. But why is romance often connected to nature? Through Emerson's writing, we see that nature is more than just a still image. It is multifaceted image that often reflects our physical and emotional state.

For instance, when it rains and the skies are gloomy, I tend to feel mellow- life for me slows down, and everything feels still. On the other hand, when the sun is shining and flowers are in bloom, I see life as an adventure. I become more active and upbeat.

At the beginning of this course, we started exploring the concept of nature versus culture. Initially, I found it challenging to complete the chart we were given. However, I later realized that by embracing the idea of romanticizing nature, the process became much clearer and simpler. I concluded that romanticism significantly influences my perception of what nature is. However this romanticization is both harmful and beneficial to the world. Emersons piece reflects the benefits of romanticization, but doing so with clarity and balance.

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Often, we see individuals feminizing material goods by describing things like cars as “feminine.”

Similarly, many countries have been labeled and referred to as being masculine or feminine. During my travels in Eastern and Northern Africa, I noticed that Egypt was among the countries that are often described in feminine terms. A common phrase there is "Egypt, the mother of the world," which illustrates how the country is feminized and romanticized as being a woman and a mother.

In the context of nature, we frequently hear references to parts of it being described as female. Examples include "Mother Nature" and "Mama Africa." These descriptions arise from the idea that these aspects of nature provide nurture, which is traditionally associated with motherhood.

Similarly, with the sun. Often being described as being feminized as its warmth hugs and allows after us.

All masculine labels are given to things that society has deemed tough and rough. In this case Emerson shows us that nature and the sublime are not masculine.

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Emerson was a very spiritual writer. In his piece, he often tied nature to spirituality. Referencing God within his work and drawing connections to the sort of wisdom he was able to attain from nature. His work is unique in that it has such a dynamic take on what nature is. Within this piece, he refers to nature as “the sublime.” The sublime references to nature being majestic and grand. This description of nature, romanticizes the idea of what nature may be seen as. For some nature may defined differently, power, within this piece and many other works authors often create this grandad image of what nature is and what it offers. This being the case many indiums including myself have this perception of nature being majestic. I am often start suck with the power of what nature has to offer. However this is the opinion of everyone and generalizing it and over spiritualizing it is harmful to nature. As many parts of the world's land is not ours to spiritualize or even claim. Throwing spirituality and romance in to this mix is damaging and ignores those whom are owners of it.

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"The sublime was grand, rough, dark, terrifying, masculine, God the Father; the beautiful was intimate, smooth, light, pleasing, God the Son.. It is only later in the nineteenth century, as "wilderness" came to be an ever more popular destination for romantic travelers and tourists, that the terror of the sublime began to recede.” (pg. 1)

“God the Son” and describing nature as being both feminine and masculine. His usage of words such as “intimate” “smooth” “pleasing,” sounds like an individual describing a romantic partner or friend. Not typical words that are commonly used to describe nature. The romanization of nature in this lens, we can conclude, was a tool to symbolize nature's softness. However he further goes on to describe the sublime as also being “grand, rough, dark, terrifying, masculine.” This highlights the dynamic identity that nature holds. And there is so much that we have yet to uncover! This sense of mystery and power of nature is romantic, as just like love we are in for many surprises (mystery)  and often overpowered (power) by numerous waves of emotions we experience.

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“I am the lover, of unconfined and immortal beauty. In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages. In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant of the horizon, main beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature.” (pg. 3)

There is no doubt that nature is beautiful.

In this quote by Emerson, we see his immense appreciation for nature. Emerson describing nature as “immortal,” suggests that nature is everlasting and never decaying. This description creates the impression that nature can never fade and will last forever. However, this notion is not entirely accurate, as we know climate change has significantly impacted the environment, and we now fear we may lose our planet if we do not take action. The idea that nature is "immortal" may lead readers to believe nature will never change and that nothing can destroy it.

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The harm and benefits of romanticizing nature 

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The harm and benefits of romanticizing nature 

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Just like anything in life, it is important to acknowledge both the good and the bad. The romanticization of nature has its benefits but also has negatives that can lead to even greater harm.

The benefits of romanticizing nature include:

First, it opens the door to appreciation. As humans, we become more aware of the beauty around us and are encouraged to go out and celebrate all that nature has given us. Two, the appreciation of nature fosters environmental awareness and sensitivity. With our connection to nature, we begin to treat it like our home, protecting it from harm and seeking ways to ensure it thrives.

However, there are negatives to consider as well. We have seen, particularly through the works of Emerson and of John Muir, that nature is often idealized and overly romanticized by particular groups. This idealization can make us delusional about the capacity and power that nature possesses, potentially leading to harmful situations where some may begin to feel as though they are the "chosen ones".

As we have learned throughout our course, the romanticism of nature is a largely western ideal and a privilege. Those from misrepresented communities are often excluded from this romanticization, and many are deemed unworthy of appreciating nature. Indigenous people are particularly affected by this as their homes are not places for us to claim as our own, nor should we exclude them from enjoying nature or dictate how they should celebrate it.

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"And this: the moment beside the trail as you sit on a sandstone ledge, your boots damp with the morning dew while you take in the rich smell of the pines, and the small red fox-or maybe for you it was a raccoon or a coyote or a deer —that suddenly ambles across your path, stopping for a long moment to gaze in your direction with cautious indifference before continuing on its way. Remember the feelings of such moments, and you will know as well as I do that you were in the presence of something irreducibly nonhuman, something profoundly Other than yourself. Wilderness is made of that too.” (pg. 8)

Throughout this course, we have read a multitude of works that use romanticism as a literary tool. William Cornon’s piece “The Trouble with Wilderness” was among the works that uses this tool to artistically and imaginatively describe nature. For instance, within the above quote Cronon uses descriptive phrases such as “the morning dew” and “the rich smells of pine” to further curate a greater sense of  appreciation of nature. This allows for readers including me to feel more emotionally tied and infused by the work. Romanticism is a popular artistic tool, it is characterized by a multitude of all the feel good and happy hormones that keep the audience attached. I as a reader found this to be extremely useful, as a fan of romance based books and films. This literary tool always keeps me coming back for more.

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The Journey of  bringing romance to the wilderness 

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The Journey of  bringing romance to the wilderness 

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Within this piece, William Cronon sets out the goal of making readers rethink the concept and idea of the wilderness. He states that the term “wilderness” has been referred to for centuries as a place of darkness and fear. Throughout history it has had a negative connotation. For instance, Cronon mentions that biblically and within the King James version of the Bible that the wilderness was being described as a place where individuals can get lost both physically and mentally (pg. 8). This connection was further embedded in children's films and stories, creating a sense of fear in us from a very young age to stay clear of the wild.

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“the striking power of the wild is that wonder in the face of it requires no act of will, but forces itself upon us —as an expression of the nonhuman world experienced through the lens of our cultural history— as proof that ours is not the only presence in the universe.” (pg. 23).

This quote reminded me of one of my favorite childhood books and the movie adaptation of "Anne of Green Gables." In the story, Anne is portrayed as a lover of nature. She romanticizes many aspects of the natural world and is often found talking to trees and the ocean. At first glance, this behavior may seem peculiar, as she puts great effort into ensuring that no animal or plant is harmed. No one discourages her behavior, they simply accept that she is was a little "odd.”

To Anne, nature was her life. She found it difficult to talk to boys and found contentment in being surrounded by nature. To her, this was the only love she needed. This romantic view of nature inspired her to encourage the community to take action and celebrate their land. Here we see the benefits of romanticization, however, Annes action also would lead to some trouble. *spoiler*

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Characterizing nature as being a “virgin" is weird

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Characterizing nature as being a “virgin" is weird

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"​​The myth of the wilderness as "virgin," uninhabited land had always been especially cruel when seen from the perspective of the Indians who had once called that land home.” (pg. 15)

Similar to Kolodny’s piece, Cronon acknowledges that the idea of nature being a "virgin" is cruel, particularly concerning Indigenous people. This concept of virginity refers to nature being inhabited and untouched. It relates to the obsession with the notion of nature as pure and pristine. Cronon highlights the cruelty of this concept, urging readers to recognize the harm in depicting nature as a virgin. He warns that this perspective is detrimental to the rightful owners of the land, as it perpetuates the misconception that the land was uninhabited. Cronon would disagree with Kolodny’s and Emerson's take. As Cronon through his work, analyzes the work of authors similar to Kolodny and Emerson, who are romantic writers.

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(image) Pride and Prejudice

From a very young age, I found great joy in romantic pieces including, movies and books. I spent much of my time watching films set on farms and in rural areas, dreaming of one day being among the characters who lived there. Through media, I developed the notion that nature was a place of great romance. I was a big fan of Jane Austen and adored the movie "Pride and Prejudice." In this film, Jane was characterized as being one with nature, and I thought that was beautiful.

However, as I grew older, I began to realize that the romanticized view of nature portrayed in movies was far from reality. In the real world, the earth is suffering. Rather than living in this illusion of perfection, I became more active in my efforts to protect the environment. I wish that the movies and books I loved depicted the truth about our world. Throughout these works, we see that while romance is a wonderful literary tool, it often obscures the reality of our planet's struggles.

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“A daily reality of harmony between man and nature based on an experience of the land as essentially feminine –that is, not simply the land as mother, but the land as woman, the toilet female principle of gratification —enclosing the individuals in an environment of receptivity, repose, and painless and integral satisfaction.” (pg. 4)

Two things I take away from this quote that is further damaging to the identity of nature. One that nature is seen as being feminine. Here again, we sense romanticism coming back. Where often women are described as being romantic, soft, pure, and pristine.

The other being that man is only kind to land because of its feminine like characteristics. Here the author touches on the fact that nature itself is often being taken advantage of, similarly to how women are often taken advantage of. We also can deduce that the author is mentioning this to say that man is only kind to nature out of sheer necessity.

Here we see how romanticism can lead to greater harm for nature. Characterizing nature and women as being similar is degrading and unacceptable.

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Te Fiti from the Disney Movie Moana                                                       

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“The earth is our Mother the land.” (pg. 3)

In Kolodny’s work, we see an example referring to the earth as our mother “the earth is our Mother the land.” (pg. 3). This idea stems from the belief that, like our mothers, the earth provides us with everything we need: water, food, and even shelter. It’s a beautiful and thought-provoking perspective. When the earth dries up, Mother Nature brings us rain, and when it pours down, we seek shelter among her trees and caves. This description emphasizes that, like our mothers, nature is irreplaceable. We depend on her for our survival. This idea is persistent, and we often describe the death of our mother nature.

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Te Fiti

Likes

Nature, giving life, being whole, Moana's heroism

Dislikes

Destruction, the theft of her heart, Maui's reckless mischief

Powers and abilities

The ability to create life through the power of her heart

Te Kā

Other names

Lava Monster
Te Pō (name in original drafts)

Dislikes

Water, thieves, trespassers, Maui's shapeshifting

Powers and abilities

Control over lava and fire
Super strength

Te Fiti is a major character in Disney's 2016 animated feature film . She is able to create life-an ability used to create the islands of Polynesia. After her heart had been stolen by Maui, she became Te Kā, a demon of earth and fire. With Te Kā in her place, the islands that Te Fiti created are slowly consumed by a life-killing darkness.

Background

Te Fiti was the first entity to appear in the world inhabited only by the ocean. Te Fiti used her life-giving heart to spread the gift of life across the world, creating multiple islands that would be inhabited by flora, fauna, and humans. Following her vast creation, Te Fiti laid herself to rest and formed her body into an island. Over the time, Te Fiti's heart became a much-desired treasure. Villainous thieves such as the giant crab Tamatoa and bloodthirsty Kakamora pirates all sought the heart for their own nefarious purposes and self-interests. Only the mischievous and highly-regarded Maui was daring enough to invade Te Fiti's shores in hopes of giving her heart to mortals as a gift. Using his shapeshifting abilities, Maui found Te Fiti's spiral and stole the heart. As a result of its removal, the island fell into darkness, and the physical entity of Te Fiti morphed into a negative shell of her former self: Te Kā.

As Maui made a hasty escape on his boat, a vengeful Te Kā rose from her slumber and confronted him. Their battle resulted in the loss of the heart, and as punishment for his crimes, Te Kā banished Maui to a desolate spit of land in the middle of the open ocean, where he would be doomed to remain stranded for eternity. Meanwhile, with Te Fiti now a dark entity, a devastating curse would slowly begin to spread across the world, destroying flora and fauna, making it impossible for humanity to survive. According to legend, only the restoration of Te Fiti's heart can end the blight.

Personality

Te Fiti's sole purpose is to spread life across the ocean. She values nature and the beauty that comes alongside it. Moving with gentle grace, often seen with a tranquil expression to match her radiant features, Te Fiti is selflessness and purity incarnate. Though she will not hide her displeasure in those who wrong her, she is forgiving should the individual in question look to redeem themselves.

While Te Fiti is a largely compassionate entity, Te Kā is - quite literally - a heartless creature with a fiery disposition. The theft of her heart has stripped her of Te Fiti's benevolence, replacing it with malice aimed at both Maui and the world at large. Te Kā and Te Fiti are polar opposites, with differing goals and ideals; while Te Fiti wishes to spread life and beauty, Te Kā seeks to bring death and corruption. As she guards Te Fiti's fallen shores with a spiteful scowl, Te Kā looks to destroy anyone who dares cross her path, and will relentlessly pursue her target until they either depart, or face a bitter end.

Despite this, Te Fiti's purity lies deep within Te Kā. Should someone call to it, as Moana did during the climax, she will slowly ease her tension and succumb to her inner, gentle nature.

Physical appearance

Te Fiti, as well as her Te Kā aspect, is an enormous embodiment of the earth, but her appearance differs between the two forms.

The colossal Te Fiti takes the form of a feminine figure with a human face not unlike Moana's. Her body is covered in lush flora and trees; clusters of flowers adorn her grassy hair similar to a headdress. Her entire body appears to be made of the land itself, with a flowing "dress" made of plants and flora. She can also assume an island form when dormant; when this happens, she assumes a resting position.

Massive in size, Te Kā towers above all who encounter her, and is usually depicted with a hollow scowl and an expressionless, skull-like face. She is comprised completely out of lava, with molten skin and flames as her hair. Always surrounding her slender form is a dense pyrocumulus cloud, coupled with bolts of lightning and volcanic ash. She has no legs, her lower half made of a shapeless mass of lava, and she moves about by crawling with her hands. On her chest is a spiral carving of where her heart once was; should it be reattached, Te Kā will return to her true form.

Powers and abilities

Te Fiti's power lies in her ability to generate life around her and her control over it as a goddess of life. As a living island, she can grow plants of all sizes and can manipulate the terrain around her body, as well as change size seen just before she returns to a dormant state near the end of the film. With her heart, she can create other islands teeming with flora and fauna, and affect these elements from afar, as shown by Te Kā's curse. However, she could also rejuvenate the life in the islands Te Kā's curse had once affected. Because of her godly status, she was also able to create and recreate items previously destroyed, such as Moana's boat and Maui's fish hook (which itself was a weapon forged by the gods).

As Te Kā, most of her abilities are derived from her elemental control over fire, lava, and magma. With these assets, she can create fireballs and turn matter into molten rock. Aside from water, which can temporarily solidify her lava form, Te Kā does not appear to have any true weaknesses. She can even regenerate her hands when severed within seconds. The only way to truly "defeat" her is to subdue her long enough to return Te Fiti's heart to its rightful place. This will inevitably obliterate the being known as Te Kā, and revive her true identity.

She is also extremely powerful in her strength-so much so that she overpowers the capacity of a demigod, though one can pose as a decent adversary for a period of time.

Appearances

Te Fiti is first seen in traditional animation during Gramma Tala's opening story. She tells the surrounding children about the day in which Maui stole Te Fiti's heart, and warns that it must be restored before humanity faces a slow and painful death at the hands of the lava demon Te Kā. Shortly afterward, the Ocean selects Tala's granddaughter, Moana, as the heroine capable of saving the world.

Years later, Moana journeys with Maui to Te Fiti's island, which has been covered entirely by molten rock. Te Kā acts as a demonic guardian and prevents anyone from approaching Te Fiti's shores. Fortunately, Moana manages to do so, but she finds that Te Fiti is nowhere to be found. She looks to Te Kā and notices a spiral on the lava goddess' chest, indicating that she is actually Te Fiti. Moana sings " Know Who You Are" to Te Kā, which in turn reforms the beast as she at long last finds a measure of peace in Moana's words. Moana gently rests her forehead on the bridge of Te Kā's face before placing the heart back into her chest.

Te Kā's lava skin turns to molten rock and crumbles away, releasing Te Fiti from her age-long torment. Te Fiti silently restores her island and undoes the damage caused by Te Kā across the world, as well as Moana's boat. Maui bashfully tries to joke with Te Fiti, but the goddess is not amused. He then apologizes in a formal manner, confessing that he has no excuse, which earns Te Fiti's forgiveness. As a reward for helping Moana restore the heart, Te Fiti recreates Maui's fishhook, which had been previously destroyed by Te Kā. She then bids farewell to Moana and lays herself down to rest as the heroine returns home.

Other appearances

Te Fiti and her alternate forms (herself, an island, and Te Kā) appear in the As Told by Emoji retelling of Moana. Notably, the battle between Moana, Maui and Te Kā parodied the popular app game Pokémon Go - here called " TeKāmon Go". In the game, Pokémon evolve into different Pokémon, and as such, Te Kā evolved into Te Fiti at the end of the game.

In earlier versions of the movie, the lava antagonist of the film was named "Te Po", and was described as a brutal and villainous land spirit.

The way Te Kā crawls toward Moana as she parts the sea is very reminiscent of Ursula from The Little Mermaid as she reclaims Ariel.

Both Te Fiti and Te Kā are goddesses of the earth, albeit in differing ways. Te Fiti is a more obvious representation, being manifested by lush greens and plant life, symbolizing earth's nature. On the opposite side, Te Kā is manifested by lava and magma which, when combined with water, creates land. Despite their different ideals, both elements add to the planet.

"Te Kā" means "the burning one" in Maori. The development name for Te Kā/Te Fiti, "Te Po", means "the dark one" in the same language. "Kā" is also a possessive particle in most Polynesian languages, which fits the character's loss of identity.

Although an original character, Te Fiti draws parallels with similar goddesses in Polynesian lore:

Te Kā bears similarities to the religious Hawaiian figure Pele, the goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes.

Te Fiti's story role and the "Te Po" name initially given to Te Kā resemble "Hine-nui-te-pō", the Goddess of the Night that was central to Maui's failed quest for immortality in Maori mythology.

Te Kā is depicted as one of Maui's tattoos, as the aftermath of their battle for the heart of Te Fiti is illustrated on the latter's back.

Te Kā is made up almost entirely of effects animation. Art director of characters Bill Schwab described her as "the most challenging character to design in the film".

In earlier designs, Te Kā's facial appearance was slightly more human. She appears as a more demonic figure in the final film.

Like Moana and Maui, Te Fiti is connected to the film's overarching theme of identity. After losing her heart, Te Fiti is blinded by anger and rage as she smites the world in an act of vengeance. She forgets her initial purpose - forgets who she is - which causes the film's central conflict until Moana steps in and reminds Te Fiti that she is not identified by anger and hate, but by love and compassion.

Te Kā is unique in that she is the only villain in the Disney animated feature canon to face a peaceful demise, rather than a gruesome one. Also significant is that she was not a villain that needed to be defeated; rather, she needed to be liberated from her torment and be brought to peace in order for the damage she had caused to be undone.

According to the audio commentary on the Moana Blu-ray release, Te Kā was originally going to be a speaking character, but this was later scrapped.

References

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Te Fiti is a major character in Disney's 2016 animated feature film Moana. She is able to create life-an ability used to create the islands of Polynesia. After her heart had been stolen by Maui, she became Te Kā, a demon of earth and fire.

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“Paradise with all her virgin beauties” (pg. 4)

What did he say?! While reading this for the first time I was shocked by the sexualized description of nature.

For centuries, women’s bodies have always been fantasized about, and sometimes even described as places of paradise. In this quote, the Earth is not only depicted as a paradise, but not just any paradise, it's described as being a having a "virgin" beauty. This description is grotesque.

The author seems to suggest that nature, like a woman, should remain virgin and pure. This concept of “purity" is something we have discussed numerous times in class. Many of the authors, being predominantly male, perpetuated the idea of Earth as a virgin or pure woman/space. This romanticization and fantasization of nature is harmful not only to the environment but also to all women.

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Kolodny's piece, alongside others we engaged with throughout this course, is beautifully written but is ultimately harmful and unrealistic in its depiction of nature. As college students and members of this generation, we are more socially aware than ever, thanks to the age of social media and the internet. While Kolodny's work may have been more acceptable in the past, our socially and politically aware minds today are constantly attuned to what is right and wrong. In this case, I felt that this piece does more harm than good for the earth. As it creates unrealistic expectations about what the environment is and will be. I would have appreciated it if his piece had acknowledged the truth of the earth's beauty and recognized those to whom we owe our understanding of nature.