Thoreau supports freedom of thought, freedom of action, and freedom to live as one sees fit. These topics arise in many, if not all, of his writings. He and his family members participated in the antislavery movement and housed at least one or two runaway slaves temporarily in their home. Thoreau went to jail for one night to prove that he had the freedom to not pay a state tax that was irrelevant to him. He felt free enough to devise his own method of employment and finances:
“I found, that by working about six weeks in a year, I could meet all the expenses of living. The whole of my winters, as well as most of my summers, I had free and clear for study.” (Walden,“Economy,” paragraph 96)
Even though he enjoyed surveying land, he didn’t want to be saddled by owning it. He was concerned that such a tie would taint or interfere with his pure appreciation of it:
“As long as possible live free and uncommitted. It makes but little difference whether you are committed to a farm or the county jail.” (Walden, “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” paragraph 5)
After Ellen Sewell turned down marriage proposals by both Henry Thoreau and his brother John, Henry never pursued another close personal relationship. “All nature is my bride,” he wrote in his journal on April 23, 1857. He had enough self-imposed projects to occupy himself with in his advanced studies of the natural world. The freedom he created in his life allowed for it all.
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