A Loaded Gun
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assemblages and shadow boxes of, 119–20
childbirth for, 55
Howe, Susan, on, 48, 158
marriage for, 54–55
sexual relations of, 31, 54–55, 158
Norcross, Betsy Fay (grandmother), 53
Norcross, Frances “Fanny” (cousin), 42, 80, 192
letters to, 58, 96–97, 104, 153
Norcross, Joel (grandfather), 50, 53–54, 205
Norcross, Lavinia (aunt), 49, 52–53, 56–58, 77, 102
Norcross, Loring, 57–58
Norcross, Louise “Loo” (cousin), 42, 77, 80, 192, 199, 203
letters to, 58, 96–97, 104, 153
North, William C., 134
Oates, Joyce Carol, 136–40, 141, 143, 165, 210
“Of God we ask one favor” [Fr1675B], 163
“Of nearness to her sundered Things” [Fr337], 139–40
“omitted center,” in writing style, 29–30, 157
Ondine, 119, 121, 128, 129, 130
“An Open Portfolio” (Higginson), 26–27
“Ophelia” (fictional character), 166
Orlando (Woolf), 22
Paglia, Camille, 30, 82, 135
Paradise Lost (Milton), 89
patrician and aristocratic mien, 71, 81, 95, 96, 106, 201, 206
Patriotic Gore (Wilson), 189–90
Patterson, Rebecca, 125, 135
on Emily’s appearance, 142
on Emily’s love for Kate, 86, 108, 109–12, 122, 143–46, 216
Pearl Jail, 58, 66–67, 91, 144, 147
Pepin, Susan, 143, 214–15
performance artist, Emily as, 32, 37, 38, 63, 64, 100–101
personas, of Emily
as huntress and predator, 142, 150, 152, 217
as innocent in white, 32, 64
as Loaded Gun, 150
many, 84, 102, 164
as quick witted, 15, 76, 196
as split, 25
Philips Academy, 115
photographers, 134
Poe, Edgar Allan, 136
poems (discussions of)
as apocalyptic, 92, 140, 142, 162, 170, 201–2, 206, 213
Carlo (dog) in, 83–84
on creativity, 77
death in, 44, 81, 92, 132, 140, 164–65, 166–67, 201
discoveries of, 19
Emily on, 17, 33, 84, 100–102, 132, 191–92
Emily’s instructions to destroy, 99, 102
on envelopes, 112, 154, 175–78, 182–83, 196
eroticism of, 31, 147, 149, 150
father in, 67, 93–95
fragments used in, 159
Higginson on, 26–27
Higginson’s edits of, 19
Kate in, 144–45, 146–47, 215–16
lexicon of, 19, 22, 29, 30, 43, 46, 66, 158, 178, 197
locomotive stamp in, 95
Maher’s storing of, 99, 102–3
male prejudice about, 107–8
mermaids in, 83–84
productive period of, 42, 63, 80, 82, 152, 190–91
as “Snow,” 99, 163
Sue on publication of, 75
topics of, 144
Vinnie’s writing of, 47, 126
violence of, 99, 144, 153, 163, 182, 201–2
poems (list of)
“Alone and in a Circumstance” [Fr1174], 93–95
“The Brain—is wider than the Sky” [Fr598], 32, 208
“By homely gifts and hindered words” [Fr1611], 183–84
“The Clock strikes One” [Fr1598D], 39
“Dirks of Melody” [Fr1450], 33, 44, 172
“Finding is the first Act” [Fr910], 36
“He fumbles at your Soul” [Fr477A], 132
“He lived the Life of Ambush” [Fr1571B], 202
“I am not used to Hope” [Fr535], 68, 111
“I cannot dance opon my Toes” [Fr381A], 33, 120, 124
“I dreaded that first Robin, so” [Fr347], 167–68
“I felt a Cleaving in my Mind” [Fr867B], 76–77
“I heard a Fly buzz—when I died” [Fr591], 129–30
“In many and reportless places” [Fr1404], 177–78
“I saw no Way—the Heavens were stitched” [Fr633], 77, 92
“I shall not murmur if at last” [Fr1429], 146–47
“I started Early—Took my Dog” [Fr656], 83–84
“I stepped from Plank to Plank” [Fr926], 173, 174
“It feels a shame to be Alive” [Fr524], 81
“I think I was enchanted” [Fr627], 90
“It is solemn to remember that Vastness” [Fr1548], 209
“I would not paint—a picture” [Fr348], 100–101
“Like Men and Women Shadows walk” [Fr964], 165
“A loss of something ever felt I” [Fr1072], 45
““Mama” never forgets her birds” [Fr130], 58
“My basket holds—just—Firmaments” [Fr358], 38
“My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun” [Fr764], 24–25, 82, 84, 142, 150–51, 193, 202, 213, 217
“A narrow Fellow in the Grass” [J986], 19, 184
“Of God we ask one favor” [Fr1675B], 163
“Of nearness to her sundered Things” [Fr337], 139–40
“The Poets light but Lamps” [Fr930], 38
“Rearrange a ‘Wife’s’ affection!” [Fr267], 93
“A Route of Evanescence” [Fr1489A], 35
“She dealt her pretty words like Blades” [Fr458], 166–67
“She rose to His Requirement” [Fr857], 61–62
“The Soul has Bandaged moments” [Fr360], 19, 54, 82, 168
“The Spider holds a Silver Ball” [Fr513], 22, 23, 172
“A Spider sewed at Night” [Fr1163A], 171
“Those—dying then” [Fr1581], 22
“The Tint I cannot take—is best” [Fr696], 193–94
“’Tis Seasons since the Dimpled War” [Fr1551], 85–86
“Title divine—is mine” [Fr194], 25, 31, 45, 165, 203
“We shun because we prize her Face” [Fr1430A], 215
“What mystery pervades a well!” [Fr1433A], 169
“When I have seen the Sun emerge” [Fr1095], 172
“When I hoped, I recollect” [Fr493], 144–45
“When they begin, if Robins may” [Fr1042], 168
“Wild Nights” [Fr269], 136, 141, 144, 166
“Yellow Whip” [Fr1248], 202
“The Poets light but Lamps” [Fr930], 38
A Poet’s Parents: The Courtship Letters of Emily Norcross and Edward Dickinson (Pollak), 51
politics, of father, 60, 64, 67, 81, 96, 170, 205
Pollak, Vivian R., 51
Porter, David, 121, 123, 154
power, of Emily, 20, 21–22, 24–25
preceptors
Bowles, Sam as, 24, 163
Higginson as, 17, 22, 23–24, 37, 163
Sue as, 163
predator and huntress persona, 142, 150, 152, 217
prison
in Emily’s fragments, 163
in Emily’s letters, 80
Pearl Jail, 58, 66–67, 91, 144, 147
Scarlet, 63, 208, 212
productive period, 42, 63, 80, 82, 152, 190–91
Proust, Marcel, 206
publication
Emily on, 38, 95, 99–100, 194
first, 19, 150
by Higginson and Todd, 26–27, 69, 190
Jackson on, 162
Johnson’s, of fragments, 155
by Niles, 150
by Roberts Brothers of Boston, 26, 103
in Springfield Republican, 184
Sue on, 75, 148–49, 156
unknown to Emily, 184
Vinnie on, 148–49
publishers and editors
Higginson as, 26–27, 37–38, 156, 190
Roberts Brothers, Boston, 26, 103
Todd as, 19, 27, 37–38, 69, 149, 156, 190
puzzles
Emily’s, 27, 37, 101, 175, 180, 210
Leyda on, 29, 31
, 73
‘Queen Recluse’ nickname, 20, 156, 199, 214
quick witted persona, 15, 76, 196
“Rabbit Angstrom” (fictional character), 206
radical scatters, 154, 158, 159, 160, 164, 165, 191, 197
Radical Scatters (Werner), 164
railroad, 95, 96
Ransom, John Crowe, 107–8
“Rearrange a ‘Wife’s’ affection!” [Fr267], 93
recluse. See also agoraphobia
Cornell as, 125, 127
Emily as, 25, 26, 40–41, 69, 79, 125, 127, 185–86, 211
Emily’s ‘Queen Recluse’ nickname, 20, 156, 199, 214
myth of, 19–20
red hair, 53, 74, 76, 122, 138, 192
religion and God
Emily on, 22, 32, 35, 70, 73, 79, 169, 171
of family, 73
RepliLuxe, of Emily, 136–40, 141, 143, 165, 210
Rich, Adrienne, 20, 21, 22, 24–25, 144, 203
The Riddle of Emily Dickinson (Patterson), 108, 142
riddles
of Emily’s sexuality, 108, 216
of Emily’s writing style, 29, 30, 111, 127, 165, 186, 204
Rimbaud, 116, 205
Robert Frost Library, 154–55
Roberts Brothers of Boston, 26, 103
A Room of One’s Own (Woolf), 82
Root, Abiah, 28, 142–43, 207
“A Route of Evanescence” [Fr1489A], 35
Rowing in Eden (Smith, M. N.), 191
Sacks, Oliver, 204–5, 208, 209–10
Saint-Rémy, France, 210–11
Sand, George, 22, 89, 94–95
Scarlet prison, 63, 208, 212
Schopenhauer, Arthur, 204
Scott, Kate. See Anthon, Kate Scott Turner
“Secrets of the Pen: Emily Dickinson’s Handwriting” (Shapiro), 195–96
seductiveness, of Emily, 17, 18, 20, 22, 32, 103
servants
Irish, 95–96, 98, 188
Maher as, 95–97, 102–6
Sewall, Richard B., 59, 74, 98, 185, 215
sexuality, of Emily
as ambiguous, 22, 24–26, 30–31, 45, 76, 93, 160, 203, 212, 216
fears of, 31
Patterson on, 108, 143–44
riddle of, 108, 216
as seductive, 17, 18, 20, 22, 32, 103
Sexual Persona (Paglia), 135
sexual relations, nineteenth century, 31, 54–55, 148
shadow boxes
of Cornell, 112–13, 116–20, 121–25, 138, 175, 181, 216–17
as nineteenth century women’s art, 119–20
Shakespeare, William, 21, 37, 80, 91–92, 204
Emily influenced by, 22, 32, 153, 166, 186, 207
Emily’s favorite, 146, 166, 197
Woolf’s imaginary sister of, 87–89, 92, 93, 158
Shapiro, Susanne, 195–96
“She dealt her pretty words like Blades” [Fr458], 166–67
“She rose to His Requirement” [Fr857], 61–62
Simic, Charles, 118, 124–25, 127
“Simon Legree” (fictional character), 200–201
The Single Hound (Bianchi), 149
Smith, Grace, 69–70
Smith, Martha Gilbert, 150
Smith, Martha Nell, 135, 141, 191, 193
Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll, 48, 148
Snively, Susan, 102
“Snow,” 99, 163
Solomon, Deborah, 125
Sontag, Susan, 73–74, 77
“The Soul has Bandaged moments” [Fr360], 19, 54, 82, 168
“The Spider holds a Silver Ball” [Fr513], 22, 23, 172
“A Spider sewed at Night” [Fr1163A], 171
split persona, 25
Spock, Benjamin, 115
Spooner, J. C., 142
Springfield, Massachusetts, 134, 141, 142, 152, 214, 215, 216
Springfield Republican, 96, 150, 167, 184
stamp collage, 94–95
Stearns, Frazer, 81
Stebbins, Lafayette, 59
Stern, Bert, 132
Stowe, Calvin, 189
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 147, 188–90, 200–201
Civil War and, 189–90
Sue’s hosting of, 198–99
Sue. See Dickinson, Susan Gilbert
suitors, 17, 72–73, 107, 142
Higginson as, 23
Lord as, 18, 216
in Master Letters, 187
A Summer of Hummingbirds (Benfey), 94
Swift, Jonathan, 160
Taglioni, Marie, 118–19
Tate, Allen, 33–34, 107–8, 160
temper, of father, 59–60, 64, 65
terror, of Emily, 28, 62–63
This Republic of Suffering (Faust), 169–70
“Those—dying then” [Fr1581], 22
“The Tint I cannot take—is best” [Fr696], 193–94
“’Tis Seasons since the Dimpled War” [Fr1551], 85–86
“Title divine—is mine!” [Fr194], 25, 31, 45, 165, 203
Todd, Mabel Loomis, 19, 27, 37–38, 69, 149, 156, 190
Topps 2008 American Heritage Baseball Trading Card #6, 135
Toward the Blue Peninsula (For Emily Dickinson), 122–24, 127
Tuckerman, Edward, 161
Turner, Campbell, 109
Twain, Mark, 28, 134, 136
Ulysses (Joyce), 190
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe), 189–90, 199–201
universe, 209–10
Updike, John, 205–6
Utica Female Academy, 108, 198
Utopia Parkway, 117, 118, 121, 125, 126, 131
Vaill, Sarah, 53–54
van Gogh, Theo, 212
van Gogh, Vincent, 210–11
van Gogh, Willemien, 211
Vendler, Helen, 62, 140, 147, 194
“Vesuvius at Home: The Power of Emily Dickinson” (Rich), 21, 144
Villella, Edward, 129
violence, of Emily’s poetry, 99, 144, 153, 163, 182, 201–2
Wadsworth, Charles, 17–18, 104, 149
Ward, Samuel G., 27
Ward, Theodora, 194–95
Warhol, Andy, 125
Werner, Marta L.
early years of, 178–79
on fascicles, 191
on fragments, 154, 156, 158, 159–60, 162, 164–65
Gorgeous Nothings and, 175–78, 180–84
and Howe, Susan, 179–80
on writing style, 192, 193, 194, 195
“We shun because we prize her Face” [Fr1430A], 215
“What mystery pervades a well!” [Fr1433A], 169
“When I have seen the Sun emerge” [Fr1095], 172
“When I hoped, I recollect” [Fr493], 144–45
“When they begin, if Robins may” [Fr1042], 168
Whicher, George, 108
whip lash language, 19, 22, 76, 124, 146, 202
white dress, 21, 139, 140, 152, 206, 208
Emily hiding in, 32, 33, 92, 163, 203
as iconic, 20, 25, 135, 211
Murray on, 98
as performance, 37
White Heat (Wineapple), 74
Wild Nights! (Oates), 136
“Wild Nights” [Fr269], 136, 141, 144, 166
Williams, Henry Willard, 80
Wilson, Edmund, 189–90
Wineapple, Brenda, 74
Winters, Yvor, 107
witchcraft, of Emily’s poetry, 32, 34, 82, 164, 189, 201, 206, 208
“A Woe of Ecstasy” [Fr1599] fragment, 161–62, 164
Wolff, Cynthia Griffin, 70
women. See also nineteenth century
Cornell and, 117, 119
in Elizabethan England, 87
Woolf, Virginia, 22, 87–89, 91, 92, 93, 158
writing aversion, of mother, 46, 59
Writing Degree Zero (Barthes), 166
writing style, 28, 38–39, 153–54, 168–74
contradictions in, 159–60, 167, 172, 194, 201
dashes in, 25, 26, 99, 155, 160, 166, 186, 195, 207
Emily’s relationship to words in, 204–5
handwriting and, 27, 94, 156, 191, 194–96
Howe, Susan, on, 66, 141, 186, 192, 193, 207
influences of, 22, 32, 153, 166, 186, 207
left-handedness and, 207
Leyda’s “omitted center” of, 29–30, 157
riddles of, 29, 30, 111, 127, 165, 186, 204
Werner on, 192, 193, 194, 195
whip lash language in, 19, 22, 76, 124, 146, 202
The Years and Hours of Emily Dickinson (Leyda), 29, 56, 157
Yellow Eye
of Emily, 25, 30, 68, 142, 150, 160, 163, 193, 213
of God, 193
in poem, 24, 202
“Yellow Whip” [Fr1248], 202
zero at the bone imagery, 19, 153, 184
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