Influences On Emily Dickinson's Literature

Emily Dickinson has read many books throughout her lifetime, which later influenced her own writing. In fact, her readings expanded her imagination and affected the way she thought. Sometimes Dickinson’s interests in a piece of literature was simply an interest in the writer. Dickinson read the works of other writers “not to discover the variety and potentiality of the art she shared with them, but rather to find there a provocation of her own imagination” (Donoghue). As an adult, Dickinson started reading some of Emerson’s writings, (Wider) and she was also interested in reading books by the Brontes (Donoghue). Along with other books, Dickinson read the Bible, which is also believed to have had influence in some of her writings (Thomieres). During

Her siblings were William Austin Dickinson and Lavinia Norcross Dickinson. Dickinson’s father was harsh, “‘thin dry[,] and speechless[,]’” but Dickinson was depressed when her father died in June 1874 (Donoghue). Although Dickinson’s father was harsh, he was a highly valued man in society because he was the “treasurer of Amherst College, a member of the state legislative, and a member of congress.” Dickinson’s father also presented himself as a “model citizen and prided himself on his civic work” (Donoghue). However, others viewed Dickinson’s mother as a “passive wife of a domineering husband” (Wider). Because her mother was “passive,” Dickinson never knew a mother’s love until her mother suffered from paralysis, and Dickinson learned to love her” (Donoghue). Both of Dickinson’s parents “were firmly rooted within a Calvinist tradition that found the free inquiry and self-culture of Unitarianism highly suspect.” Both of Dickinson’s parents also “praised a book in which the protagonists are defined by the importance of principled action, even when such action entails breaking the law” (Wider). Dickinson’s brother was also valued highly in society due to the fact that