pioneering opportunity in women’s education enabled Emily Dickinson to receive a uniquely privileged education. This successful also led several universities to open their “experiment” doors to women or create colleges especially for them, although women sometimes could not earn formal degrees. The question” was especially pointed in literary circles, where women remained “woman subordinate in the mid-nineteenth century. In England, writers Charlotte Brontë and Mary Ann Evans used pen names—Currer Bell and George Eliot, respectively—to avoid public censure for the radical ideas and passionate heroines described in their novels, especially (1847) Jane Eyre and (1860). Greater barriers existed for female poets, since the genre of The Mill on the Floss poetry traditionally belonged to men. A notable exception to Victorian prejudice against women writers was Elizabeth Barrett Browning, whose life and poetry deeply influenced Dickinson. In Barrett Browning’s radical verse-novel, (1857), the poet-heroine refuses to Aurora Leigh renounce her artistic ambition, when the man she loves expects her to give up her writing to become his helpmeet. In America, it was even harder for women writers to publish and succeed. The young United States was slower to address women’s rights than England. In an age that looked down upon women and as the daughter of parents who did not fully understand her “scribblers,” intellectual pursuits, Dickinson may have composed such poems as dwell in Possibility and “I –” shut me up in Prose”—both written in 1862—to express her own frustration. “They Much Madness is divinest Emily Dickinson Much Madness is divinest Sense — To a discerning Eye — Much Sense the starkest Madness — — the Majority ’Tis In this, as All, prevail — Assent and you are sane — — Demur you’re straightway dangerous — — And handled with a — Much Madness is divinest Sense — To a discerning Eye — Much Sense the starkest Madness — — the Majority ’Tis In this, as All, prevail — Assent and you are sane — — Demur you’re straightway dangerous — — And handled with a Chain — Much Madness is divinest Sense— To a discerning Eye—
pioneering opportunity in women’s education enabled Emily Dickinson to receive a uniquely privileged education. This successful “experiment” also led several universities to open their doors to women or create colleges especially for them, although women sometimes could not earn formal degrees. The “woman question” was especially pointed in literary circles, where women remained subordinate in the mid-nineteenth century. In England, writers Charlotte Brontë and Mary Ann Evans used pen names—Currer Bell and George Eliot, respectively—to avoid public censure for the radical ideas and passionate heroines described in their novels, especially Jane Eyre (1847) and The Mill on the Floss (1860). Greater barriers existed for female poets, since the genre of poetry traditionally belonged to men. A notable exception to Victorian prejudice against women writers was Elizabeth Barrett Browning, whose life and poetry deeply influenced Dickinson. In Barrett Browning’s radical verse-novel, Aurora Leigh (1857), the poet-heroine refuses to renounce her artistic ambition, when the man she loves expects her to give up her writing to become his helpmeet. In America, it was even harder for women writers to publish and succeed. The young United States was slower to address women’s rights than England. In an age that looked down upon women “scribblers,” and as the daughter of parents who did not fully understand her intellectual pursuits, Dickinson may have composed such poems as “I dwell in Possibility –” and “They shut me up in Prose”—both written in 1862—to express her own frustration. Much Madness is divinest Emily Dickinson Much Madness is divinest Sense — To a discerning Eye — Much Sense — the starkest Madness — ’Tis the Majority In this, as All, prevail — Assent — and you are sane — Demur — you’re straightway dangerous — And handled with a — Much Madness is divinest Sense — To a discerning Eye — Much Sense — the starkest Madness — ’Tis the Majority In this, as All, prevail — Assent — and you are sane — Demur — you’re straightway dangerous — And handled with a Chain — Much Madness is divinest Sense— To a discerning Eye—
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