The Theme of Sexuality in Dickinson's Works

When reading the poetry of Emily Dickinson, many people find themselves asking the same question: was Emily Dickinson a lesbian (or at least bisexual)? The answer is not a definite, but there is ample evidence to support the fact that she may have been interested in women. Her poetry is often analyzed from a queer perspective because of her many loving references to specific women in her life. In the two poems we read in class, there are many lines that lead the reader to believe that Dickinson is speaking about her relationships with other women in a romantic manner. Based on the evidence in her own writing, Emily Dickinson was most likely gay or bisexual.

Emily Dickinson's poetry is often untitled, so is sometimes referenced based on the first line of the poem. That being said, the poem "Tell Her – the page I never wrote!" has many lines that are inherently queer in nature. In the poem, she says "her," and the poem itself is unmistakably a love poem. When she says she "left the Verb and the Pronoun – out," she seems to be speaking about the fact that she can't really find the right words for what she's feeling. The pronoun in this case would probably be "she" or "her" and the verb would probably be "love" or even "lust." However, in her time, there was no word for the feeling of love for someone of the same sex. It was not even something that was ever considered. It would make sense for her to be confused and not understand what she was feeling, and for her to not know how to express those feelings.

The poem "Her breast was fit for pearls" is even more obvious in nature. She says "Her breast was fit for pearls, but I was not a "Diver"…" The sentiment expressed here is that she is not able to give this woman everything she deserves. Since women were not able to be married to one another, she could not marry her or really be in a relationship with her at all (at least not one recognized by others as legitimate). She seems to think that this woman deserves the world, but she knows that she cannot give her everything since she isn't a man. She also refers to the woman's heart as her "perennial nest," suggesting that it is a place she keeps going back to time and time again. When stating "her heart is fit for home," this could either be a metaphor or a literal statement. Either she feels like she is at home with the woman because she is so close with her, or she wishes she could live with her so that she could be with her all the time.

"To see her is a picture" has many queer elements as well. "To know her is an intemperance / As innocent as June..." is an interesting line. Intemperance is defined as indulgence or a lack of control. However, she then relates the word to innocence. It would seem to be a contradiction, but it does make sense in a certain context. She feels a lack of restraint and she feels that if she is to truly "know her," it would be intemperate. However, she is either unable to act on her feelings or (if she is able to act on them) thinks of her actions as innocent. Romantic or sexual interactions were only seen between men and women, so if she were to be physical with her, it would probably be seen as just a very intimate friendship, even by her. If she admired her from afar, she would be controlling her immoderate thoughts. Either way, it is possible for innocence and intemperance to exist simultaneously.

These poems are so similar in nature that if put together they could make a single poem with the same recurring theme. Throughout these three poems, Emily seems to have a sense of longing for the woman of whom she speaks. Towards the end of the third poem, she says "which never to receive, / makes mockery of melody / It might have been to live." This line hits the reader hard, because she is saying that if she can't have her, living seems meaningless. If she were a man, she would be with her, and life would be like a song, beautiful and pleasant. However, making a "mockery of melody" would seem to mean that this potential love was seen as something that could never happen, so if she ever tried to do what would make her most happy, she would be mocked, as she is not a man so could not love a woman. The poems are relatable to anyone who has ever felt any type of "forbidden love" as she felt, exhibited by her writing.

While there were rumors that Emily Dickinson was in love with a few different women, the one person she consistently wrote about (or to) was her sister-in-law, Susan. It is now recognized in most academic circles that she longed to be closer with Susan and wanted a romantic relationship with her. One poem, "What mystery pervades a well!", was written about nature, describing how nature is a mystery to her and she wonders how some people find it so easy to get close to nature. However, there were earlier drafts of this poem that were found in which the word "nature" was replaced with "Susan." This is a very clear sign that she was in love with her. She wishes she could be close to Susan, but cannot since it is forbidden. The poem then begins to take on a new meaning, speaking about her love for this woman.

Another instance of her proclaiming her longing for Susan is in the poem "To own a Susan of my own." This poem is extremely short, and it reads: "To own a Susan of my own /

Is of itself a Bliss —/ Whatever Realm I forfeit, Lord, / Continue me in this!" The interpretation of the poem is more obvious, since she blatantly states that she wishes she could "have a Susan of her own," or have a version of Susan that is hers only and does not belong to a man. The third line of the poem is interesting, because it brings to mind the notion that people believed that a man and a woman were destined to be together, "as the Lord intended." She is basically saying in this line that she does not care if she forfeits her right to the Realm of heaven, or maybe even the Realm of morality, God's love or acceptance, etc. The poem is about how it is worth it to betray God if she is granted the bliss of being with Susan.

According to Lillian Faderman in the text Emily Dickinson's Letters to Sue Gilbert, there are about forty Emily Dickinson poems that appear to be about being in love with a woman or that are love poems written to certain women. With a close reading of these poems, it becomes immediately clear to the reader that she has a deep feeling of love for Susan Gilbert, as well as quite possibly other women throughout her lifetime. There is no telling whether she actually acted on this love, and she probably did not, considering the time in which she lived, but there is no doubting her feelings, and feelings are as valid as actions when it comes to love. To her, this love was different and taboo and secret, but her poetry shows that her love was no different from that of anyone else. Her romantic notions towards women were as intimate and loving as any that she wrote about men, sometimes even more so. She even compares her love of women to her love of men sometimes, and the love for men is completely overshadowed by what she has to say about women.

Many scholars who attempt to analyze the poetry of Emily Dickinson find these and numerous other pieces of evidence that Emily Dickinson was gay or bisexual. While there is much evidence that she was in love with men at certain times in her life, there was an equal amount of, if not more evidence that she was in love with women. This is why it is likely that she was actually bisexual. Many people, after discovering the gay themes in her book, were thrilled to have a classic poet, someone who is highly regarded as a genius, to relate to – someone to look up to and reference in times of struggle. These queer themes of which she writes have given strength to many and have actually increased her popularity, especially among queer individuals. Her books have been studied in queer studies classes and there have even been books written about her that detail her suspected relationships with women. This is a topic that has gotten a lot of attention, and the attention is well-deserved, since queer studies is an often overlooked method of literary analysis, especially when it comes to pre-1900s writers.

Everything is open to interpretation, but it is often easier than expected to find hidden meaning in poetry. A lot of the queer themes in the poetry of Emily Dickinson is in the subtext, but much of it is right there in the forefront. A reasonable explanation for why it was not brought up initially is because in her time a woman's relationship with another woman was never questioned since there wasn't even a word for being gay or bisexual. People may have overlooked these instances because at first glance they seemed to be about friendship or wishing she could be a man, but with further analysis it becomes clear that the reason she seems to express desire to be a man is because that is the only way it would be acceptable for her to be with a woman, in the eyes of society.