Theo Davis argues that ornamental aesthetics are central to Thoreau, Dickinson, and Whitman's writing, exploring the stakes of such an ornamental aesthetics through a parallel investigation of the ornamental aspects of Heidegger's phenomenological philosophy.
Exploring the emergence of national literature in the United States, the book delves into the universalism of American literature as articulated by Emerson, Hawthorne, and Stowe. Theo Davis argues that their investigations of experience stem from a belief in abstract experience governed by typicality rather than individual subjectivity. By tracing these ideas back to Scottish common sense philosophy and early literary criticism, she analyzes how American prose embodies this art of abstract experience, prompting a reevaluation of literary form in contemporary studies.