I’ve read a few books about simple living/minimalism but I just finished ‘Walden’ and wow… it’s beautiful. Many patient observations of simple natural phenomenon are wonderful meditations and potent lessons. It seemed just as relevant to present times as to when it was written. I finished feeling like there’s so much more to extract from that book, definitely going to read again!
Maybe you were aware, but if not I wanted to share with you fine folks in case you’ve missed this gem like I had. It is in the public domain in the US (published 1854) so you can get the ebook or audiobook for free from Project Gutenberg!
It’s pretty but my opinion is biased by the knowledge that he had a housekeeper and also he was freeloading on his buddy Emerson’s property. But I should read it again because it is pretty.
He at least borrowed female labor from Emmerson if he didn’t hire himself. What was he gonna do, wash his own underwear?
Thoreau describes the cabin as a single 10 x 15’ room with very few possessions, so there wouldn’t be much to clean. And he spent a significant amount of the book describing cleaning routines. So yeah, I expected no housekeeper for sure.
What’s your source for the housekeeper claim? I tried some internet searching but couldn’t find anything mentioning a housekeeper.