The (mad woman?) In the Attic

Melissa McMahon

English 48 B

March 18 2009

"I'm "wife"-I've finished that-

That other state-

I'm Czar-I'm "Woman" now-

It's safer so." (81)

A woman, a myth, a legacy, a writer, a lover, an artist. Who was Emily Dickinson? Was she crazy and self confined-shutting herself out from a world she already felt absent from? Was grief the reason for the shroud placed around her? How could she give the world so much in the form of literature- but passed through her lifetime as a mystery? No matter the amount of questions that surround Dickinson, one cannot deny the pain, life, and spirit that she poured into her words. Even if she was not well known in life, she is well loved much after.

Early on in her life after witnessing the deaths of many of her friends, "she revealed to her friend Abiah Root the extent of her depression: "... some of my friends are gone, and some of my friends are sleeping – sleeping the churchyard sleep – the hour of evening is sad –" (Wikipedia) There is no doubt that these many losses shaped Dickinson's intrigue with the issue of mortality. As she sat at her window and watched countless funerals, something was growing inside of Dickinson, and she used it to write some of her many astounding poems. In that time, writing was considered a weakness, especially for women. It was not a women's place to write- it was a women's place to sew, have children, cook, and be pretty. Emily wanted none of these things, as so, shutting herself away she began to create a world for herself in the solace of her four walls- a world where no one could judge her and she was left to express herself freely.

I think it is safe to say that she was depressed- the power behind her poems speaks to her frustration with her position in life and all the loss she had seen. "I', "Wife"! Stop there!" (81) Emily wanted to be so much more that just a "wife", and when she implores her readers to "stop there!" she is showing how limiting and final a "wife" title was. No doubt her opinions were backed up as she watched the 'happy' marriage of her brother, Austin, to Susan Gilbert fade away as he pursued his affairs...Emily knew that a role of a wife was not enough and not as safe as she was taught to believe. Establishing her identity as a writer, Emily lived a daring lifestyle- even if it was only between her 4 personal walls.