 Formal schooling only began for Margaret in 1819; starting in 1824 she boarded at the School for Young Ladies in Groton for two years, then returned home. There she resumed her study of the classics. She found the Greeks more congenial than the Romans, identifying the Greeks with idealism, imagination, and freedom, the Romans with practicality, logic, and stern composure. Her readings were supplemented now by the Romantic literature taking shape in Europe, which she found fascinating. By the time she was in her thirties, she could be regarded as the best-read person, male or female, in New England (Douglas 1977: 263). She ended up espousing an avowedly dual philosophy that sought to embrace both classical and Romantic outlooks. She taught that the Platonic tradition celebrated masculine qualities while Romanticism celebrated feminine ones. Humanity as whole needed both—and each individual person should cultivate both their masculinity and their femininity.