My Wars Are Laid Away in Books

by Alfred Habegger

  HFE Hampshire and Franklin Express (Amherst newspaper, 1844–1868, including Hampshire Express)

  Higgins Higgins, David. Portrait of Emily Dickinson: The Poet and Her Prose. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1967.

  Him Himelhoch, Myra, and Rebecca Patterson. “The Dating of Emily Dickinson’s Letters to the Bowles Family, 1858–1862.” Emily Dickinson Bulletin 5, no. 20 (March 1972) 1–28.

  Hist An Historical Review. One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Church of Christ in Amherst, Massachusetts. November 7, 1889. Amherst: Amherst Record, 1890.

  Hist Amh Coll Tyler, William S. History of Amherst College during Its First Half Century. Springfield, Mass.: Bryan, 1873.

  Homans Homans, Margaret. Women Writers and Poetic Identity: Dorothy Wordsworth, Emily Brontë, and Emily Dickinson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980.

  Home Bingham, Millicent Todd. Emily Dickinson’s Home: Letters of Edward Dickinson and His Family with Documentation and Comment. New York: Harper, 1955.

  House-Keeping Lyman, Joseph B., and Laura E. Lyman. The Philosophy of House-Keeping: A Scientific and Practical Manual. Hartford: Goodwin and Betts, 1867.

  HSR Stachiw, Myron, Claire Dempsey, and Tom Paske. “Historic Structure Report.” Unpublished document in the collection of the Dickinson Homestead.

  Imagery Patterson, Rebecca. Emily Dickinson’s Imagery. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1979.

  JL/ED Joseph B. Lyman’s transcribed excerpts or “snatches” from Emily Dickinson’s letters, Lyman Papers 4:64 (first published in Lyman Let [see below], 69–79).

  Jones Jones, Rowena Revis. “The Preparation of a Poet: Puritan Directions in Emily Dickinson’s Education.” Studies in the American Renaissance (1982) 285–324.

  Kellogg Kellogg, Alfred H. A Sermon Commemorative of the Life and Character of the Rev. Lyman Coleman. Easton, Pa.: Trustees of Lafayette College, 1882.

  Lease Lease, Benjamin. Emily Dickinson’s Readings of Men and Books: Sacred Soundings. London: Macmillan, 1990.

  Let The Letters of Emily Dickinson. Thomas H. Johnson and Theodora Ward, eds. 3 vols. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1958.

  Let (Holl) Emily Dickinson’s Letters to Dr. and Mrs. Josiah Gilbert Holland. Theodora Van Wagenen Ward, ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1951.

  Let (1894) Letters of Emily Dickinson. Mabel Loomis Todd, ed. 2 vols. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1894.

  Let (1931) The Letters of Emily Dickinson. Mabel Loomis Todd, ed. New York: Harper, 1931.

  Leyda Leyda, Jay. The Years and Hours of Emily Dickinson. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1960.

  Lindberg-Seyersted Lindberg-Seyersted, Brita. The Voice of the Poet: Aspects of Style in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson. Uppsala, Sweden: 1968.

  LL Bianchi, Martha Dickinson. The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1924.

  Loeffelholz Loeffelholz, Mary. Dickinson and the Boundaries of Feminist Theory. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1991.

  “Lost Homes” Habegger, Alfred. “How the Dickinsons Lost Their Homes.” ESQ 44.3 (1998) 160–97.

  Lowenberg Lowenberg, Carlton. Emily Dickinson’s Textbooks. Lafayette, Calif.: Carlton Lowenberg, 1986.

  Lyman Let Sewall, Richard B. The Lyman Letters: New Light on Emily Dickinson and Her Family. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1965.

  Manual A Manual of the Congregational Church of Monson...for 1874. Springfield, Mass.: Bryan, 1875.

  Mass Reports Massachusetts Reports (available at Massachusetts State Library)

  Master Let Dickinson, Emily. The Master Letters of Emily Dickinson. R. W. Franklin, ed. Amherst: Amherst College Press, 1986.

  MB The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson. R. W. Franklin, ed. 2 vols. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981.

  McIntosh McIntosh, James. Nimble Believing: Dickinson and the Unknown. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000.

  “Medicine” Hirschhorn, Norbert, and Polly Longsworth. “‘Medicine Posthumous’: A New Look at Emily Dickinson’s Medical Conditions.” New England Quarterly 69 (June 1996) 299–316.

  Mer Merriam, George S. The Life and Times of Samuel Bowles. 2 vols. New York: Century, 1885.

  Mercy Phil [Jackson, Helen Hunt.] Mercy Philbrick’s Choice. Boston: Roberts, 1876.

  MHJL Mount Holyoke Journal Letter for 1847–1848, transcript by Helen M. Gidley, MH.

  Miller Miller, Cristanne. Emily Dickinson: A Poet’s Grammar. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1987.

  Mitchell Mitchell, Domhnall. Emily Dickinson: Monarch of Perception. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2000.

  MLT/ED Printer’s copy, mostly in MLT’s hand, for Let (1894), MLT Papers, boxes 68–69.

  Moseley Moseley, Laura Hadley, ed. Diary 1843–1852 of James Hadley, Tutor and Professor of Greek in Yale College. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1951.

  Murray Murray, Aífe. “Miss Margaret’s Emily Dickinson.” Signs 24 (spring 1999) 697–732.

  Nason Nason, Emma Huntington. Old Hallowell on the Kennebec. Augusta, Me.: Burleigh & Flynt, 1909.

  NEI New-England Inquirer (first Amherst newspaper, 1826–1828).

  Nettleton Tyler, Bennet. Memoir of the Life and Character of Rev. Asahel Nettleton. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society, 1879.

  Obit Record Obituary Record of Graduates ofYale College Deceased from June, 1870, to June, 1880. New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1880.

  Open Me Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson’s Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson. Ellen Louise Hart and Martha Nell Smith, eds. Ashfield, Mass.: Paris Press, 1998.

  Other Bullards Other Bullards: A Genealogy. Port Austin, Mich.: E. J. Bullard, 1928.

  Passion Farr, Judith. The Passion of Emily Dickinson. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992.

  Poems The Poems of Emily Dickinson. Thomas H. Johnson, ed. 3 vols. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1955.

  Pollak Pollak, Vivian R. Dickinson: The Anxiety of Gender. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1984.

  PP Pollak, Vivian R., ed. A Poet’s Parents: The Courtship Letters of Emily Norcross and Edward Dickinson. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988.

  “Putnam” Hart, Ellen Louise. “The Elizabeth Whitney Putnam Manuscripts and New Strategies for Editing Emily Dickinson’s Letters.” EDJ 4.1 (1995) 44–64.

  Reid Reid, Mary J. “Julia C. R. Dorr and Some of Her Poet Contemporaries.” Midland Monthly 3 (June 1895) 499–507.

  Remin Hitchcock, Edward. Reminiscences of Amherst College. Northampton: Bridgman & Childs, 1863.

  Reunion Reunion of the Dickinson Family, at Amherst, Mass., August 8th and 9th, 1883. N.p.: Binghamton Publishing, 1884.

  Rev Bingham, Millicent Todd. Emily Dickinson: A Revelation. New York: Harper, 1954.

  Rich Rich, Adrienne. “‘Vesuvius at Home’: The Power of Emily Dickinson.” Parnassus 5 (winter 1976) 49–74.

  Riddle Patterson, Rebecca. The Riddle of Emily Dickinson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1951.

  “Root” Franklin, R. W. “Emily Dickinson to Abiah Root: Ten Reconstructed Letters.” Emily Dickinson Journal 4.1 (1995) 1–43.

  Rowing Smith, Martha Nell. Rowing in Eden: Rereading Emily Dickinson. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1992.

  Sargent Sargent, David W., Jr. “The Railroad Mania in Amherst.” Bulletin of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society no. 47. (1938) 11–45.

  Sewall Sewall, Richard B. The Life of Emily Dickinson. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994. First published 1974, 1980.

  Shurr Shurr, William H. The Marriage of Emily Dickinson: A Study of the Fascicles. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1983.

  Smith Smith, James Avery, comp. “Families of Amherst, Massachusetts: A Genealogical Outline of Individuals and Families residing at Amherst . . . through 1850.” 4 vols. Amherst: James Avery Smith, 1984. Copy at J.

  SR Springfield Repu
blican (newspaper)

  St. Armand St. Armand, Barton Levi. Emily Dickinson and Her Culture. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

  Sullivan Sullivan, David. “Suing Sue: Emily Dickinson Addressing Susan Gilbert.” Emily Dickinson Journal 5.1 (1996) 45–70.

  Sweetser Sweetser, Philip S. Seth Sweetser and His Descendants. Philadelphia: Integrity, n.d.

  Talbot Talbot, Norman. “The Child, the Actress and Miss Emily Dickinson.” Southern Review (Adelaide, Australia) 5.2 (June 1972) 102–124.

  This Was a Poet Whicher, George Frisbie. This Was a Poet: A Critical Biography of Emily Dickinson. Philadelphia: Dufour, 1952. First published 1938.

  Tracts Tracts of the American Tract Society. General Series. New York: American Tract Society, n.d.

  Trustees Min “Minutes of the Board of Trustees of Amherst College 1825–1923” (annotated typescript). A.

  Turner Turner, Clara Newman. [“My Personal Acquaintance with Emily Dickinson”]. bMS Am 1118.7, H. *210

  Uno Uno, Hiroko. Emily Dickinson Visits Boston. Kyoto: Yamaguchi, 1990.

  Var Dickinson, Emily. The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Variorum Edition. R. W. Franklin, ed. 3 vols. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998.

  Walker Walker, Cheryl. The Nightingale’s Burden. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982.

  Watts & Select Worcester, Samuel. The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, of the Rev. Isaac Watts, D.D. to Which Are Added Select Hymns, from Other Authors. Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1852.

  Weisbuch Weisbuch, Robert. Emily Dickinson’s Poetry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975.

  Wells Wells, Anna Mary. Dear Preceptor: The Life and Times of Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1963.

  Werner Werner, Marta L. Emily Dickinson’s Open Folios: Scenes of Reading, Surfaces of Writing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1995.

  Wolff Wolff, Cynthia Griffin. Emily Dickinson. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1988.

  World Longsworth, Polly. The World of Emily Dickinson. New York: Norton, 1990.

  Endnotes

  *1. After the handwritten copy was prepared by Mabel Loomis Todd but before it was sent to the printer, a number of passages were blue-penciled, perhaps on the advice of Austin Dickinson, the poet’s brother. Since many of these excisions came from letters whose manuscripts are lost, the smudged printer’s copy, now at Yale’s Manuscripts and Archives Library, is the only source for some of Dickinson’s more personal epistolary remarks. Still unpublished, these have not been made use of by critics or biographers.

  *2. A successor of Jonathan Edwards, Emmons taught the usual doctrines of God’s Sovereignty and Human Depravity. However, for him depravity was not an inherited state (Original Sin) but a “voluntary opposition to God.” Because his system made sinfulness a question not of what humans are but what they choose to be, it followed that they must exercise their wills in effecting their regeneration; hence “Exercise Scheme.” The peculiarly American dynamism of this idea may have had a formative impact on Samuel.

  *3. Originally the word designated a family’s established dwelling place, including house, outbuildings, and land.

  *4. In speaking of Samuel Fowler’s zealotry and fanaticism, I am thinking of his extreme dedication, activism, and risk-taking. To judge by his dismissive 1831 remarks on “stern articles of faith,” he was far from intolerant of others’ beliefs.

  *5. One should note the gentleness of Samuel’s religious suasion. In 1823 he wrote his son that “when a man is imbarrassed with disappointments—difficulties in business & the cares of a family—he seems to have no time to think of God & duty . . . I mention this as a serious fact for your reflection. My own experience shows the increasing difficulties in the way of being religious, as we advance in life.” As a rule, Edward did not approach his own children in this confiding and equal spirit.

  *6. An obituary of William noted that “he had an incisive manner of speech and a dry humor” and “always clung to his point and not infrequently carried it.” Thomas Wentworth Higginson’s statement to Emily Dickinson that he could not imagine “two beings less alike than you & him” missed certain underlying similarities.

  *7. Cynthia Griffin Wolff’s life of Dickinson offers a textbook example of how a weak factual base can turn a biography into unadmitted fiction. Claiming without evidence that Edward was a “superb student,” Wolff wonders why his father didn’t praise him for his “excellent work at Yale.” The gratuitous problem then leads to a ringing psychological insight: “Samuel Dickinson did not much play the father’s role with Edward. Instead, he treated the boy as someone to lean on and confide in. . . . Edward was left to ‘father’ himself.”

  *8. Until the late 1980s biographers tended to heap the Norcrosses with derogatory epithets. Wolff dismissed Joel’s letters as “awkward, uncultivated.” Cody, the pioneering psychoanalytic biographer, called the poet’s mother “emotionally shallow, self-centered, ineffectual, conventional, timid, submissive, and not very bright.” Such judgments no longer seem advisable following the research of Mary Elizabeth Kromer Bernhard and Martha Ackmann.

  *9. At the time Monson’s poet was still visible. When Emily Norcross Dickinson attended Monson Academy’s fifty-year jubilee in 1854, it was Brown who composed and delivered the official, preachy, and backward-looking poem (“. . . For DUTY was the watchword then . . .”).

  *10. For Emily, references had little value. On one of Edward’s early visits, she told him we “ought to form our own opinions, or our own judgments” (his summary). Chances are, this struck him as naive—one more reason she needed his protection. Fifty years later, their daughter expressed the same idea to two friends whose faith differed from hers: “we cannot believe for each other.”

  *11. Years later Edward presented Dickinson with an 1851 edition of an advice manual first published in 1821, Letters on Practical Subjects, to a Daughter. (His sloppy handwriting makes it hard to say whether the book was given in 1852 or 1862.) If she read it, she would have discovered that “the entire works of Mrs. More, the pride and glory of your sex, you cannot read too often or too attentively.”

  *12. There was also more in the fifth Coelebs paper, which praised “the productions of some of our Female Authors” but insisted their pursuit of fame ruled out “domestic happiness,” thus mandating “their departure from Society.”

  *13. She had also become quite forthright in expressing affection. In summer 1827 she “could sit by my window all the night but your society I would like to complete my happiness.” Soon after—she was the first to use the word—she wished she could give him “the parting kiss.” Following her lead, Edward both adopted and censored the phrase, wishing “we could press the parting hand, & give the parting s.”

  *14. The time of birth makes even less likely the old story that the birthchamber was being simultaneously repapered by Lafayette Stebbins, on the wife’s insistence and against the husband’s orders. This story, based on a 1944 letter by Mary Adèle Allen, first appeared in Jay Leyda’s Years and Hours of Emily Dickinson. As Leyda’s notes show, Allen got the story from a Mrs. Foote of Marblehead, who had been told it by an old man who advised her on gardening, Edgar Gregory, of Gregory Seeds. Gregory must have got it from his wife, born Flora Dell Stebbins in Amherst in 1871; her father was Lafayette C. Stebbins, variously a painter and farmer. But Lafayette was born about 1845, fifteen years after the poet, and his father, William, also a painter, lived in Wendell. Like most stories told about the famous, this one is obviously too garbled to be taken seriously.

  *15. As John Harley Warner points out, medical knowledge was less inclined to recognize “specific diseases” than to assume that attendant conditions “could nudge one disease into another.”

  *16. The rapid back-and-forth correspondence of 1838 makes matters clear. Edward left home for his first legislative term on January 1, apparently just before Emily’s period. Two days later he was informed her “head-ache was ve
ry severe, . . . which I expected . . . I hope before you receive this letter, you will be relieved.” On the fifth she assured him that “as regards my own health it is much improved since you left. The reasons need not be explained.” On February 25, not quite two months later, Edward was “afraid your periodical head-ache will trouble you, this week—I hope you will not go out much . . . try to make your labors & cares as little as you can.” The next time, having shown less understanding, he received this mild reproach: “My dear I do endeavor to be calm & I do wish to do evry thing in my power to comply with your requests. You know very well the state of my health was peculiar when you were at home which occasioned me to feel somewhat depressed, you must therefor excuse all that has passed.”

  *17. That the two older children did not sleep with their parents is implied by Lavinia Norcross’s statement to her sister that brother William’s family “sleep four in the bed yet but that is their business.”

  *18. The formality of speech was still in evidence three years later when Sarah Vaill Norcross, Joel’s wife, wrote that “Mr. Norcross, (as your little Emily would say,) started this morning for Boston.” Sarah’s usual word for Joel in family letters was “papa.” The child’s preference for the more formal term—adopted from her father?—clearly caught the family’s attention. (That Leyda erred in reading Mr as Wm, thus obscuring the point, becomes obvious if one compares Sarah’s way of forming both abbreviations in her letter to Mrs. Dickinson of May 1, 1835.)

  *19. Wolff claims the girl’s “docile demeanor” (a loaded phrase) was “a response to horror, for her aunt was engaged in nursing the mortally ill” Amanda, a consumptive sister-in-law thought to be dying. It is true that the letters that report Emily’s contentment also describe Amanda’s decline, yet Wolff’s overwrought interpretation has little to say for it. At the beginning of the visit, Amanda joined the family at mealtimes, speaking “but little” and appearing “cheerful.” After she became bedridden, two women were hired as nurses, thus further segregating her from the ongoing life of the very large house. To claim that the invalid’s condition left lasting scars on the visiting two-year-old is to insist quite unreasonably on the legendary “blighted childhood.”