Thoreau did not intend to live as a hermit,for he received visitors and returned their visits.Rather,he hoped to isolate himself from society to gain a more objective understanding of it.Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau's other goals,and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy,a central theme of the American Romantic Period.As Thoreau made clear in his book,his cabin was not in wilderness but at the edge of town,not far from his family home.