Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickenson in her biography is said to be reluctant to leave her house, and started to seclude herself in gradually over the years. Maybe it was because of a feeling of ostracism she felt that she expressed in her poem "This is My Letter to the World"; did she feel the pressure from society to confrom and that was why she wanted to be secluded, or was she afraid to go out into society because she was insecure in her abilities as a person. Only a handful of Emily's poems were published in her lifetime, and some of those where published without her full consent... was she afraid to be misunderstood and therefore unconfident about the quality of her poems, or did she simply wanted to keep her thought and poems to herself? Either way, Emily's reluctance to share her insights through her impressive poetic skills contradict's Emerson's suggestion that one should not be afraid to be misunderstood and speak out what one thinks always.

However, Emily's ability to write so much deeply about things in life even when she secluded herself from society shows her insighful looks at things that seem quite ordinary to some, like going to church. The question is whether she had these insights because she secluded herself from society and therefore her cultural milieu or she was this profound to begin with and that was the reason she seeked isolation. Her ability to transcend into a world that lies underneath societal customs shows her ability as a trascendentalist to see things as it is in the most basic, unspoiled state but the fact that she had to isolate herself from society without living with it perhaps shows a bit of doubt in her ability. But maybe not, since Thoreau had to isolate himself too to live in a Trascendentalist life; the difference is that Thoreau lived in Walden for a couple of years while Emily lived in isolation for a large portion of her life. In conclusion, I believe that Emily Dickison has the potential to be a true Transcendentalist if she believed in herself more and weren't as relucant to openly publish and speak about her beliefs to an audience, and not keep them to herself.

Do you think mayeb because we are all connected on a deeper level, that dickinson realized this and therefore searched and probed deeper and deeper into her essence to establish that communication which allows her to understand life outside of her? (remember how the outside is only a reflection of the inside?)