Is
it true, dear Sue?
Are
there two?
I
shouldn't like to come
For
fear of joggling Him!
If
I could shut him up
In
a Coffee Cup,
Or
tie him to a pin
Till
I got in –
Or
make him fast
To
"Toby's" fist –
Hist!
Whist! I'd come!
-
F189 (1861)
218
 |
| Victorian Mum |
When Dickinson’s dear friend Sue and
her husband Austin, Dickinson’s brother, had their first child (Ned, in 1861),
she sent them this poem. I’m not sure why she asks if there are “two” – two
what? Maybe it’s a playful way of asking if there weren’t really twins. And of
course, “two” rhymes neatly with “Sue.” It was probably a private joke.
She’s
concerned here about “joggling” the new baby and so wonders if she couldn’t
just tie him down or put him in a safe container. She’s being quite witty here
with shutting the baby up in a “Coffee Cup” or tying him to a pin. The best
part, though, is suggesting that Sue might “make him fast” to the cat, Toby.
All
of the diction and rhymes are lighthearted and fun. “tie him to a pin / till I
got in –” is pretty cute, as is “shut him up / In a Coffee Cup.” But I like
best the slant rhyme of “fast” with “fist – Hist! Whist!” The movement is fast,
and we imagine Emily darting over anyway, despite her fears of dandling a
newborn.
When Dickinson says "there are two"? she could just mean the mother and the baby - there used to be one person, and now there are two.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Not sure why I was so unclear about it when I wrote this!
DeleteI think it refers to men. 'Are there two [men in your life now]?' Emily must've felt awful about her brother marrying Sue, and having eventually gotten over it, the surprise of a baby boy may have come with some playful jealousy. Sue's marriage to a man is likely to have put a strain on their own relationship. Having had Sue stolen by a man once was a pain, and twice - a heartbreak. There are now two men in her life.
DeleteI like this idea, too. Thanks.
DeleteExactly what went thru my mind when I read this line. ".. Are there two?"
DeleteIt's like she's in awe that there are now two of them (Sue and the baby) in her life.
@anonymous I like that interpretation! It's a double entendre of sorts, a playful and subtle way of teasing, are there two(men in your life?) and it also rhymes with
Deletesue..
My first impression was that Emily refers two of Sue because her son had part of her then, he would would look like her, be like her in certain way. There were two of Sue and she would love both of them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this I was thinking of a pregnant Sue, and Emily not wanting to hurt the fetus, but of course I was thinking like a now 22nd century person which would know the sex of the baby before being born. They of the 19th would not, so why is she afraid to come over, and wants the baby made fast - in a coffee cup, or pinned - and only then she will come over? Men are often afraid of holding a baby, but Emily? There is some strange, or at least unnatural nature here with her.
ReplyDeleteI think it's lighthearted. Many people are afraid of being clumsy when handling a new born.
DeleteTrue. I believe that's a normal reaction for some people. I'm not fond of kids. And certainly don't like handling babies. They're so fragile.
DeleteWhat does “make him fast” to the cat mean? My first language isn’t English and I’m struggling to find a meaning in this context to the word.
ReplyDeletetie him to the cat's paw or otherwise attach him. It's light-hearted.
DeleteLike a new father, ED is bewildered, nervous, worried, timorous, insecure, uneasy, uncertain, and premonitive that her life has changed forever, so she dons her clever poetic humor mask, hoping to hide her real feelings.
ReplyDeleteThe second page of the F189 manuscript, containing the last line of the poem and the signature "Emily," is now missing. That page also carried a family note identifying the occasion and explaining that Toby was the cat (Franklin 1998). Johnson (1955) apparently saw the second page and tells us that Sue notated below the poem, “written on Ned's birth – day” [19 June 1861].
ReplyDeleteFor reasons unknown to me, Franklin uses the wrong word in Line 5:
ReplyDelete"If I could shut him up"
ED's manuscript reads VERY CLEARLY:
"If you could shut him up",
which changes the tone dramatically from one of ED's fear in meeting Susan's newborn, to a sweet request:
If you could shut him up
In a Coffee Cup,
Or tie him to a pin
Till I got in –
Or make him fast
To "Toby's" fist –
Hist! Whist! I'd come!