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Walden Pond and the Performative Touristic Gaze Daniel Christopher Bono Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College

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Walden Pond and the Performative Touristic Gaze Daniel Christopher Bono Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2008 Walden Pond and the performative touristic gaze Daniel Christopher Bono Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Bono, Daniel Christopher, "Walden Pond and the performative touristic gaze" (2008). LSU Master's Theses. 1556. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1556 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WALDEN POND AND THE PERFORMATIVE TOURISTIC GAZE A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of Communication Studies by Daniel Christopher Bono B.A., Louisiana State University, 2004 December 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………..iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION…………………….……………………………………................1 2 HISTORY OF WALDEN POND…….…………….…………………..…………....17 3 WALDEN POND TODAY…………….………………………..…………….……..40 4 INTERVIEWS………………………….…………………………………………….54 5 CONCLUSION..………………………..…………….………………………………70 WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………….......75 VITA………………………………………………………………………………………….78 ii ABSTRACT This is an ethnographic study of tourism at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. I argue that Walden Pond operates as a site that creates tensions among visitors due to the ways that time has transformed the once serene landscape into an overcrowded swimming pool. These tensions, however, fall under the expectation that the State Reservation of Massachusetts (re)creates Thoreau’s Walden as suggested in his discourse, but the performance of history is enacted through the creation of meaning among visitors engaging in a dialogue that references the past, talking about a space that has cultural significance. Exploring the touristic experience and the rhetorical performance of Walden Pond as a sublime body of nature, I wanted to see how the performance of tourism was manifesting itself in the gaze of tourists and what they could teach us about tourism. My technique involved a process of close observation, learning about people’s lives, and constructively listening to their perspectives. I first offer an introduction to my study in the first chapter, and then owing the history of Walden Pond to the second chapter in order to provide a context for the social evolution of the site into the twenty-first century. In chapter three I then discuss the tour itself and markers of the pond, including the Thoreau house replica, fence, signs, the embodiment of walking, and the actual house site. Chapter 4 examines the visitors’ perspectives on: Walden Pond as a sacred location, the house site, a place of nature, and authenticity. By understanding Walden Pond as a representation of itself and as a space to talk about the past, we begin to see less problems, dissatisfaction, and ambivalence that are connected to all the reasons that I list throughout the study, and more performances of history unfolding at the tourist attraction. iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Purpose of the Study “There are none happy in the world but beings who enjoy freely a vast horizon,” –said Damodara, when his herds required new and larger pastures. Both place and time were changed, and I dwelt nearer to those parts of the universe and to those eras in history which had most attracted me (Thoreau, Walden 87). The idealization of nature has produced a longstanding history of individuals seeking to escape urbanized environments. From the local park to the Grand Canyon, there has been a very high demand for the visitation of natural landscapes. By the mid-19th century societies became increasingly urbanized as more people moved away from rural areas and into cities. The contrasts between the countryside and the city were growing stronger. The opportunities to explore such landscapes became more widespread, as time paved the way for new roads through mountain regions and forests (Franklin 215). Travelers soon realized that the natural sublime created an embodied, spiritual awakening. The growth of nature consumerism, however, was a very slow process. Not until the 1980s did the influx of countryside visitors begin to take root. This countryside appeal was connected to what Urry calls the “romantic gaze” where there is an “emphasis on solitude, privacy and a personal, semi-spiritual relationship with the object of the gaze” (45). While the gaze is a modern one, the spectacle of the countryside has become thematic in popular culture. For Urry, “the attractions of the countryside derive in part from the disillusionment with the elements of the modern, particularly with the attempt to effect wholesale reconstruction of towns and cities in the 1 postwar period” (97). The realization is that the spectacle of the countryside (as opposed to its use) has created a postmodern sensibility. Such a spectacle usually includes a pre- packaged, sanitized environment as part of producing an ideal image of rural living for visitors. Thoreau’s claim that “There are none happy but those who enjoy a vast horizon,” certainly rings true, but as he further emphasizes, time and place do change. Perhaps that is why so many people have nostalgia for the past. Vacating to places that seem to make time stand still and that suggest a changeless utopia has become a common thread, especially in heritage tourism, which involves sites that serve to illuminate an appreciation for the past. Walden Pond is one of these tourist locations. In fact, many tourists visit Walden in pursuit of the very thing that Thoreau talks about in the above quotation. They seek a vast horizon, acknowledging that time and place do change, and they are pulled “nearer to those parts of the universe and to those eras in history” that allure them the most. Indeed, Walden Pond represents an era in history, but we must consider how the representation and commodification of Walden as an era has also changed it. The purpose of this study is to analyze Walden Pond as a tourist site. It is particularly interested in the touristic experience and the rhetorical performance of Walden Pond as a sublime body of nature which brings in 700,000 visitors annually. This study analyzes the rhetoric of the tour and the site itself, considering what tourism theory and research may tell us about Walden. In the current chapter, I offer a brief description of the park and explain the method of analysis for this study, namely, ethnography. I then explain the significance of conducting the study. In Chapter 2, I offer a history of Walden Pond to establish the different ways in which time has changed the area, including the inception of the pond, Thoreau’s time 2 there, and how his best-known work, Walden; or Life in the Woods, led to an overwhelming response of visitors and fans for over a hundred years. Chapter 3 is based on the field study that I conducted where I explore the markers at Walden and the rhetorical performance of the State Reservation tour. Chapter 4 extends the fieldwork further as it examines the performances of visitors and their perspectives on the site. In the final chapter, I emphasize the significance of the study as a whole and offer the results of my interpretative process and how these various elements intertwine with one another. Subject of the Study Walden Pond is located near Concord, Massachusetts, and is now a national landmark. In order for a location to receive this designation it must possess national historical significance, and because Walden is considered to be worthy of remembrance by the population of the United States, national authorities have officially marked and protected the area accordingly. The 102’ deep pond was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000-12,000 years ago. It is 1.7 miles around and has an area of 61 acres. Along with the body of water and the surrounding wooded environment, the pond’s features include two beach areas, the main beach and the Red Cross Beach. At the main beach, there is a large structure that holds bathrooms for visitors. In 1845, transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau built a cabin on the shores of the pond and lived there for two years, two months, and two days. While living at Walden, he wrote his most famous work, Walden; or Life in the Woods, which became one of the best known non-fiction books written by an American. His literary style and philosophical discourse quickly turned the area into an extremely popular visitation site. The popularity of the site has resulted in 700,000 annual visitors from all over the world to explore 3 the natural landscape, inspired by Thoreau’s text, or simply to delight in its value as a recreational park, with frequent joggers, swimmers, and visitors who picnic there on a regular basis (Maynard 4). The pond is considered a historic preservation site and officials therefore keep its natural resources safeguarded. Only a certain number of people are allowed in the area at one time, and officials prohibit dogs, bicycles, and barbecue grills as part of their preservation efforts. There is a gated parking lot across the street from the pond, where visitors pay a small fee to enter the park. Near the parking lot is a replica of Thoreau’s cabin, an attraction that visitors have the opportunity to observe before they walk across the street and trail through the pond’s surrounding paths. Visitors can opt to sign up for guided walking tours as a chance to learn more about Walden Pond as a historic site and the places surrounding it where Thoreau spent his time.
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