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Throughout his life, Thomas Bulfinch researched and rewrote classic stories and myths in contemporary literary style, in an attempt to popularize the study of mythology among mainstream readers. Although the compilation of his works, known as Bulfinch’s Mythology (1881), was popular in its time, his versions have been superseded by retellings that appeal to a more modern taste.

Works in Biographical and Historical Context

A Prominent Family

Thomas Bulfinch was born into a distinguished New England family on July 15, 1796. His father, Charles Bulfinch, was one of the most well-known architects of the time; he designed the Massachusetts State House in Boston and parts of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Bulfinch was educated much as other members of the Boston elite were; he attended Boston Latin, Phillips Exeter, and what was then Harvard College.

Despite his family’s prominent position and his elite education, Bulfinch displayed no strong sense of career, and after graduating from Harvard in 1814 he drifted from one position to another, briefly teaching at Boston Latin, working at a store owned by one of his brothers, and moving amid businesses in Washington, D.C., and Boston.

A Lifelong Position

In 1837, Bulfinch began working as a clerk in Merchants Bank, the largest bank in Boston. He stayed in that position until his death thirty years later, and the job provided him with a stable income and sufficient free time to devote to his studies and writing. He pursued writing as an avocation, using it as a source of relaxation focused on a subject fitting a man of his education and social class. As Bulfinch himself wrote, he hoped ”to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study; to give our work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education.”

Bulfinch’s approach to writing was influenced by his six years of service as the secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History, which was a forum for prominent naturalists. His contact with these scientists made him realize that the expansion of scientific knowledge represented a threat to the classical education that was dominant at the time. Bulfinch wrote The Age of Fable (1855) in an attempt to depart from the methodology of rote memorization favored by classicists. Marie Cleary notes that in his writing, Bulfinch ”ingeniously copied the naturalists’ methods of rearranging and selecting material to find new relationships.”

Victorian-Era Writer

Bulfinch did not have his first work published until he was fifty-seven years old. This work, Hebrew Lyrical History (1853), discussed the Psalms in the context of Jewish history. This was followed by the popular The Age of Fable (1855), The Age of Chivalry (1858), and Legends of Charlemagne (1863). These works, popular on their own, were collected into a single volume in 1881 under the title Bulfinch’s Mythology. This book has been popular since its original publication, going through many editions despite the fact that Bulfinch’s style is notably dated. Writing mostly during the Victorian Era, when it was considered off-limits to discuss such ”unpleasant” topics as sex and violence, Bulfinch stripped out anything that might offend the delicate sensibilities of his intended audience.

Works in Literary Context

As a writer, Bulfinch explored a wide range of interests. This is reflected in his published titles, which include Hebrew Lyrical Poetry (1853), The Boy Inventor (1860),

Shakespeare Adapted for Reading Classes (1865), and Oregon and Eldorado (1866). However, the only works that were popular during his lifetime or that were read by subsequent generations were his retellings of classic stories, fables, and myths.

Mythology for the Masses

Bulfinch used his free time from work to become an exhaustive researcher, and he combed through his sources with scholarly thoroughness. The accuracy and solid foundation of his works made his mythologies standard references for many decades. Bulfinch not only retold old myths and legends; he made numerous references to poetry and painting in an attempt to demonstrate the stories’ connections to Western culture. As he wrote in the introduction to one of this volumes,

Our work is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those that occur in polite conversation. While Bulfinch’s mythologies were well-researched, the skillful manner in which the stories are woven together made them popular with a wide audience. Even when replaced with more modern, twentieth-century versions, Bulfinch’s work was still read because of the author’s remarkable storytelling abilities. Bulfinch did leave out mentions of excessive violence and overt sexuality, but his stories have always been considered especially accessible and consistent, and they provide readers with a solid understanding of timeless stories.

Works in Critical Context

Bulfinch’s Mythology Although Bulfinch published a variety of works during his lifetime, his renown was entirely based on his mythologies, and it is only for these works that he is remembered into the twenty-first century. Despite more recent and more popular versions of ancient myths, Bulfinch still remains the standard against which others are judged. As Marie Cleary has noted, ”The Age of Fable formed the image that millions of Americans had of the classical gods and heroes.”

Scholars have noted that Bulfinch’s versions were written for an audience that might be considered prudish by modern standards. This resulted in the careful omission of many important details from ancient myths. As his obituary noted, the contents of his retellings were ”expurgated of all that would be offensive.” However, his stories continue to be popular among teachers. As one biography notes, ”The Bulfinch myths are an indispensable guide to the cultural values of the American 19th century, yet the Bulfinch version is still the version being taught in many American public schools.”

References

Briggs, Ward W., Jr., ed. Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists. Westport, Conn.:Greenwood Press, 1994.
Cleary, Marie. Myths for the Millions: Thomas Bulfinch, His America, and His Mythology Book. New York: Peter Lang, 2007.
Cleary, Marie. ”A Book of Decided Usefulness: Thomas Bulfinch’s ‘The Age of Fable.”’ The Classical Journal (February 1980): 248-249.
Cleary, Marie. “Bulfinch’s Mythology A Humanities (January/February 1987): 12-15.
Cooksey, T. L. and Mary Lefkowitz. ”Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn from Myths.” Library Journal (November 1, 2003): 83.
Tucker, Edward L. ”Longfellow and Thomas Bulfinch.” ANQ (Fall 1999): 17.
Spiritus-Temporis.com. Biography of Thomas Bulfinch. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/thomas-bulfinch/.
The University of Adelaide Library. Thomas Bulfinch, 1796-1867. Retrieved October 24, 2008, from http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/b/bulfinch/thomas/.