A Study On The Mystery Of Emily Dickinson's Seclusion

The thesis, by applying Freudian psychoanalytic theory, attempts to reveal Emily Dickinson's psychic world and the mystery of her seclusion through exploring her poems and letters.Dickinson did yearn for the world's recognition of her works. At first, Dickinson could not realize her dream of "publication" because her verses were "too ethereal and not suitable for publication" Having learned that her verses were unpublishable, she got annoyed, but had to accept this opinion as a fact. Then she masochistically took the first hesitant steps toward temporary seclusion. Dickinson endured the torments of solitude and pain, which a flowering woman should not endure. The poet understood the price of seclusion and was perfectly willing to endure solitude and pain. In masochism, Dickinson kept exerting herself to write and waited to publish her poems. In her initial stage of writing, although Dickinson seemed satisfied to remain obscure, she never stopped thinking of "fame" and "publication ". Yet after having paid great price for establishing her reputation as a published poet, Dickinson still could not realize her dream. Facing the tremendous gap between her dream and reality, her ego is confused and her self is divided severely and she is trapped into narcissism. And this leads to her further and complete seclusion. So she chose "Publication—/ is the Auction/Of the Mind of Man—" so that she could uphold the unique trait of her creativity.After the dream of "publication" was disillusioned, Dickinson had no choice but to avoid the reality and seclude from society. By doing so, she violated the wholeness of a human being, and shattered her self. The poet could not find the way to "escape" from her dream and anxiety, so she placed hopes on "death" in order to satisfy her desire for self-destruction and self-love. Her creation of the poems of "death" is linked with her seclusion and her dream.Therefore, the poet does not really believe that "Publication—/ is the Auction". Her works shows her violent conflicts and contradictions: awaiting and disappointed; thirsting and abandoning; enterprising and secluding and so on. All these accurately record a gifted poet's real psychic process from ideal to disillusionment. And all these lead to her complete seclusion. So Dickinson secluded for confusion of the ego and division of the self and for that she could not face the tremendous gap between her dream and reality.