Comparing Dickinson's I Felt A Funeral, In My Brain

Both Dickinson and Ferrante may have been motivated in their anonymity by a desire for privacy. Much of Dickinson 's poetry represents an exploration of profound affective experiences, and she undoubtedly felt vulnerable in such a situation. For example, in her poem, "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain," Dickinson explores the speaker 's mental turmoil and subsequent descent into madness, a truly private and frightening experience. If Dickinson 's poetry reflects her personal experience, to any extent, it is unsurprising that she would wish to share her poetry with only her most intimate acquaintances; in publishing her work, her deepest emotions would be put on display for the scrutiny of strangers. Ferrante likely had a similar motivation for adopting a pseudonym, particularly if Elena 's thoughts and feelings are indeed reflections of the author 's own childhood experiences. By remaining anonymous, both women are able to fully explore the affective experiences of their narrators without subjecting their innermost selves to judgement. Moreover, perhaps Dickinson and Ferrante considered the identity of the author inconsequential to the reader 's

Despite Ferrante and Dickinson 's similar motivations for anonymity, a distinction must be made between the two authors; while Dickinson refused publication entirely, Ferrante wished to publish her work, but only under the protection of a pseudonym. Ferrante likely wished to escape the fame and notoriety that accompanies a successful publication. Dickinson, in contrast, did not seem to fear fame or even consider its possibility in the same way as did Ferrante; Dickinson was entirely uninterested in sharing her poetry with the public, even under the protection of a pseudonym. This suggests that publication represented, for Dickinson, a depersonalization of her poetry; works that had once been meant to be read by Dickinson 's most intimate acquaintances as a personal address would be reproduced in mass for the perusal of