Emily Dickinson And Her Inner Demons

“You don’t have to be in a house to be haunted,”  said Emily Dickinson. Few figures in the world of poetry have been so mysterious from a psychological point of view. According to various experts, works such as  “It was a funeral in my brain ” give us an insight into why she decided to stay in her room all day and isolate herself from the world and society.

There has been much speculation about the possible psychological illnesses that the famous American poet may have suffered from. Her isolation began in 1864 when she was around 30 years old and came to an end when she died at the age of 55. During this period, she chose to dress in white and not leave the room.

But the isolation allowed her to live her life in her literary work. Undoubtedly, loneliness led to her getting enough inspiration for her artistic creations. But slowly but surely she did not become much more than a ghost behind a window. She could not even attend her father’s funeral, which was held in the living room of the same house.

In 2003, Dr. David F. Maas from Texas A&M University an interesting study called “Reflections on Self-Reflexiveness in Literature.” In it, Maas analyzed Emily Dickinson and her emotional state.

Since then, more studies have been conducted, and through them we can get a rough idea of ​​the inner demons that devoured Dickinson’s life. Ironically, it was the same demons that undoubtedly gave her creative impulses.

Emily Dickinson and her inner drums

Poets have always had the amazing ability to live into their complex senses. Take Edgar Allan Poe as an example, who in his poem “Alone” wrote: ” From the hour of childhood I have not been. As others were – I have not seen. As others have seen – I could not bring. My passions from a common source. ”

For some reason  , many of these extraordinarily brilliant poets have also been mentally ill. And they were always aware of their unique condition. Emily Dickinson wrote in her poem “It was a funeral in my brain” that her madness was her most divine mind. It made her rewrite and feel the deepest of difficulties.

Migraine

One thing to understand about Emily Dickinson is that she, like many others,  did not suffer from a single psychological condition. There is evidence that she suffered from many other types of problems, such as migraines.

Social anxiety and agoraphobia

Some experts on Emily Dickinson and her work have put forward an interesting idea. According to them, the choice to isolate themselves from the world in their room was a way to better concentrate on their work. However, some aspects must be taken into account:

• First of all, that her isolation was absolute. She did not receive any visitors and did not meet her family, even though they lived in the same house.
• Emily preferred to communicate with her brothers and nephews from behind her door.
• She also wrote letters to her friends.

Doctors at the time informed her family that Emily was suffering from a rare disease called “nerve fatigue”. Nowadays , psychiatrists link these symptoms to social anxiety and severe agoraphobia.

Did Emily Dickinson have a schizotypal disorder?

In her book  Wilder Than the Sky: Essays and Meditations on the Healing Power of Emily Dickinson  , Cindy MacKenzie talks about how Dickinson used poetry to deal with his illness. She was always very aware that something was wrong with her. In the same way, she knew that these inner demons, as she called them, clouded her reasoning, senses, and balance.

Steven Winhusen, a physician at Johns Hopkins University, conducted an interesting study on Emily Dickinson. According to him, the famous poet suffered from schizotypal disorder. There are various aspects that support his conclusions, including the very graphic information she reveals in her poems, her need for isolation and the way her handwriting deteriorated. Her thoughts, creative genius and the emotions that permeate her poems undoubtedly fit into this diagnosis.

Conclusion

Emily Dickinson probably died of nephritis on May 15, 1886. It was the same kidney disease that interestingly took Mozart’s life. She was buried in the city cemetery in a coffin with a vanilla scent,  according to the instructions she left behind.

The reason for her isolation will always be a mystery. Although she took her secret to the grave, she left a great legacy. Despite the enormous suffering she went through, she left an incredible gift to the world in her work, probably thanks to these “inner demons”.