Emily Dickinson Life

The life of Emily Dickinson was one of a mystery. Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts to Edward Dickinson and Emily Dickinson. Her mother was also called Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson 's life started with a neglected father who favored his son more than his daughters. Throughout Emily Dickinson life, she lived with her mother who became an invalid early on his her life that Emily Dickinson felt as if she never had a mother.

Early Emily Dickinson life, school life

Emily Dickinson first attended a local grammar school, then was sent to a neighboring town for her high school education. The schools were religious and strict but the education was far superior to the standard of the day. At school Emily Dickinson was known for her wit, humor and scholarliness. Emily Dickinson was popular with her classmates and impressed her teachers, who saw her as gifted but physically delicate and nervous.

Emily Dickinson grew increasingly homesick at school, was frequently absent because of illness, and Emily Dickinson was so depressed when a friend died, that she withdrew for two months. The next fall she stayed home the entire semester because she was low in spirits. When she returned she stayed for only six months because of a continuous cough. Her letters home referred often to depression and tears. At seventeen she finally completed her education and returned once more to Amherst.

Emily Dickinson life - marriage?

All three of the Dickinson children stayed at home, or close to home for their entire lives. Neither Emily Dickinson nor Lavinia Dickinson ever married and both lived in the family house until they died. Austin Dickinson married and lived in a house next door, which his father built. His wife was a young woman who had been Emily's best friend at school, but it was an unhappy marriage, and one that caused Emily much sadness.

Emily and Lavinia Dickinson were exceptionally close and Lavinia, although the younger, often took care of Emily like a mother. In fact, Emily Dickinson once wrote, "I have no Parents but her." Emily always remembered, as did all of Amherst, an Independence Day fire that destroyed a large portion of the town.

The Dickinson's were in bed when the warning bells rang, and the flames, which could be seen from their windows, had burned frighteningly close. Lavinia tiptoed into Emily's room and told her the kind of soothing lie one tells a child: "Don't be afraid, Emily," she whispered, "it's only the 4th of July." Then she took her hand and led her out of her room, still reassuring her "It's only the 4th of July." Emily wrote later to her cousins: "Vinnie's `only the 4th of July' I shall always remember. I think she will tell us so when we die, to keep us from being afraid." For more on Emily Dickinson 's life story, see the biography of Emily Dickinson.