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My Life Had Stood A Loaded Gun Essay

683 Words3 Pages

Feminist Theory: Emily Dickinson’s “My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun” Emily Dickinson’s “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun” may be read as a reflection of a certain paradox which shapes the female gender role in a patriarchal society. Namely, on the one hand, as is made explicit in Dickinson’s primary imagery of this poem of the “loaded gun”, the female remains forced into a role of passivity in this social relation. A loaded gun is precisely not something that itself is in a process of action. Nevertheless, on the other hand, a loaded gun is something that remains with potential, the potential to change the relations of power. In this poem, therefore, Dickinson reflects both the marginalized role of the female in a patriarchal society, as well as the female’s dissatisfaction with this role, the potential for resistance. …show more content…

She writes: “My life had stood – a Loaded Gun/In Corners till a Day.” With this opening, Dickinson stresses the marginal and pacified role of the female in a male dominated social construct. Her immediate reflection on her life is that it “had stood”; Dickinson’s life does not exist in a state of motion or dynamism. Rather, she is in a sense paralyzed, held in place, as shown by the use of standing. From the perspective of feminist theory and a feminist interpretation of the poem, which also considers Dickinson’s status as a female poet, the author is here expressing precisely a marginalization, an inability to affect her surroundings. This is repeated clearly in the symbolism of the loaded gun. A loaded gun is often placed, as Dickinson writes, in the corners, out of sight and out of use. It remains an object that does not play an active role, but only exists on the

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