Mason Labash
English 48b
March 24, 2011
Journal: Emily Dickinson

“But Gordon thinks there were eruptions in Dickinson's brain as well accounting for the poet's reclusiveness and even, perhaps, for her white dress, adopted for “sanitary reasons.”

“Although the poet's nephew did have epilepsy, the fact that his case is known obviates the authors' claim that social shame in 19th-century Amherst kept the poet's illness a secret.”

Lyndall is saying that Emily Dickinson's solitary lifestyle is a result of a brain disorder that also prevents her from having positive relationships with friends and family. The white dress and her portrayal of Emily as an invalid lead us to believe that she could adapt to life in an institution. We see black and white stills of her parents and brother and there are no smiles or signs of emotion. The world she lived in may have been just like those photos, stern and without expression. It appears that Emily's retreat actually provided her with enough time to write her poems and wear her favorite outfits in the privacy of her own home. Lyndall's focus on Emily's mental state is only one way of interpreting the basis for her poetry. She may have suffered from migraine headaches or a disorder unidentified at the time. By wearing a white dress she may wanted to give an appearance of purity and mask the “extravagant passions” that she displayed in her writings.

Emily Dickinson is portrayed as a reclusive, eccentric young woman who spent all of her time writing poetry. Her critically acclaimed family was undoubtedly one of the most popular in Amherst, Massachusetts and Emily escaped their notoriety by withdrawing into a fantasy world. It's possible that she had a seizure disorder and through poetry and her love for science equated it with a volcanic eruption and flowing lava. It could also be a be a fabric of her imagination. Emily might have wanted to join in on the popularity of her family but felt plain and unwanted. The white dress may be equated with a white lab rat or a white laboratory coat and not a reflection of sterility as Gordon describes. If she read about seizures, she would have known that it was a genetic inheritance and she took on that disorder and brought it to life in her poetry. She may not have minded taking the drugs that were prescribed for this disorder, in fact they may have helped her achieve a mind altering experience that inspired her creativity. Another aspect of her family's life that she portrayed in her poetry was her brother's adultery. She invented a "Master" and described him as a married man who she pursued in the same way that Austin pursued Mabel. I believe that Emily used her poetry to describe her perspective on the emotional turmoil plaguing her family. She was a shuttered individual who used personal experiences and the wild excerpts from literature in her poetry. It may be a false assumption to believe that she had a seizure disorder or was an adulterer. Her creative imagination gave her an opportunity to describe events as though they actually existed, making others believe her life was mysterious and unique.

"Comments on Emily Dickinson: Sweeping up the Heart | The Economist." The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://www.economist.com/node/16740445/comments>.