Without a Misery —
Others — whose instant's wanting —
Would be Eternity —
The last — a scanty Number —
'Twould scarcely fill a Two —
The first — a Gnat's Horizon
Could easily outgrow —
F574 (1863) J372
Dickinson is making a comparison between the people she cannot do without, no more than two, to those she could miss without any misery. While I want to read the poem as saying that there are oodles and oodles of folks she could do without, a close reading is less clear.
The last two lines are a bit ambiguous: could the number of lives missed "Without a Misery" "easily outgrow" the gnat's horizon? If so, then the expendable lives could easily outgrow a radius of, say, a couple of feet (the scope of a bumblebee, according to one source). That's a small base to start with and although the phrasing doesn't limit the number of people, it doesn't necessarily follow that it includes almost everyone the poet knows. It might as easily mean ten people as a hundred.
If it is the gnat's horizon that could easily outgrow the number of expendable lives, then there really are only a few people she could miss without misery. If this is the case, the poem is saying, "there are two people I can't do without and a number of folks I don't give a fig about".
Of the two readings, I prefer the former. It seems a better contrast to the two essential people, and contrast seems to be what this poem is about. But smitten as I am with the phrase "Gnat's Horizon" (which would be great fun to work into a conversation), it just doesn't establish a dramatic contrast. It doesn't allow us to conclude that Dickinson doesn't care for many people.
Instead I think she is emphasizing how much she cares for two people. It's a bit of hyperbole, but she claims that every moment she misses one of them would be an "Eternity". That's quite a burden for the lucky two.
I have the same reaction to this poem. The last two lines are startling and take the poem out of the realm of convention. Without these two lines, the meaning of the poem would be similar to "The Soul selects her own Society" -- but without the powerful rhythms, rhymes and metaphors and without the confidence -- the pride -- of that famous poem.
ReplyDeleteAnd the last two lines are ambiguous. I may be reading more into it than the poem merits -- but one reading of these lines could be as a critical reflection on the poet's choice of depth over breadth -- in her life and in her work. Her isolation and limited circle of friends are recognized as a "Gnat's Horizon" -- but seeing this limitation is to transcend it as well. To see the limit of one's ability to love is already to have outgrown that limitation.
If I squint I can get the reading you suggest from the last lines. I like it, but it's awfully subtle. On the other hand, as you suggest, they are the remarkable lines of the poem; their smoke suggests more fire than I could find, so perhaps your reading is at least closer.
DeleteI prefer interpretation that relates to the comparison between her two beloved individuals (the first and the last), although I do see that the other interpretation works well.
ReplyDeleteThe reference "a scanty Number-" could refer to the fact that the number of individuals she holds dear to be not fixed--that the "soul" continuously "selects her own Society." So the last individual who she finds dear to her soul, will no longer be the last for long--hence, the individual holds a scanty Number. The line "'T would scarcely fill a two -" could refer to maybe something other than the number of people she holds dear, but rather that the love she held for this individual was nearly unrequited (or that she felt slighted)--or that perhaps there was something else about the kinship that she found underwhelming. The last two lines of this second stanza, could be read in two ways. Her ability to keep those she loves away is at most a "gnat's horizon," and with her "first" love this ability to stay away (gnat's horizon) may increase with time (her horizon increases). The other interpretation probably works well too. Namely, that absence makes the heart grow fonder: her ability to love her "first" (or paramount) love outgrows all those that she holds dear even if her "first" is not in her horizon in comparison to the "last."
If I try to read the poem with 'first' and 'last' indicating chronology in life rather than sequence within the poem, I read the second stanza as derogatory to both -- and surely the poem is claiming true devotion to the 'Two'. Some of the ways you work around this are ingenious -- but I would have to force the poem to extract them.
DeleteI like what you say about the "scanty Number" but the Dickinson lexicon (nor my dictionary) doesn't support that meaning for 'scanty'.
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DeleteI understand your point about "scanty" not typically being defined the way I've read it--what helps the interpretation slightly is that the contrast is between the first number and the last number. If the last number is scanty (meaning meager), then the contrast isn't there anymore--first is surely scanty too. The positioning of the words give some support to the contrast hypothesis. She begins the second stanza with the word "The last -" and then provides a couplet relating to "the last." The last two lines of the stanza, likewise begin with "The first -", and relate to the first; thereby, in appearance providing a contrast.
ReplyDeleteIn my first reading, I do see the easy interpretation of the first two lines of the first stanza as stating "I know loads of lives I could overlook without misery." Then, she then goes onto stating in the next two lines that, in contrast, there are some special individuals that make even a fleeting recollection feel like eternity, because they are so special.
Otherwise, it's possible to read the first stanza as stating "I know some individuals who I am able to miss without deep pain." Indicating all her recollections of this individual are happy ones and the act of recollection is a pleasant one. In contrast, the next two lines could be read as "there are some people that are alive whose wanting or wasting a second of my time is so straining that it feels like an eternity." Or, these last two lines of the second stanza could also relate to people that are also not with us anymore: "there are some special individuals that recalling them for even a moment is too painful."
**Or, these last two lines of the first stanza could also relate to people that are also not with us anymore: "there are some special individuals that recalling them for even a moment is too painful."**
DeleteSorry--for the typos.
Oh, I see. As always, you have me re-reading the poem in new ways. I don't always agree, but it's always fun. In this case you reverse my reading of the positive vs. the negative to interesting effect. Thanks for your comments!
DeleteOr she could be swatting at gnats who get within her personal radius. Two people she really likes and the rest annoy her if they get too close.
ReplyDelete“Gnat's Horizon” sounds like bowdlerized 19th century American slang:
ReplyDelete“Various phrases of the type have been known in the US . . . to indicate something very small. Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang from 1840: gnat’s heel, a very small amount. Others are gnat’s eyebrow, gnat’s ass (“Fine enough to split the hairs on a gnat’s ass”), and fit to a gnat’s heel, for something that fits or suits perfectly. There’s also the English gnat’s piss for any weak and unsatisfying drink. Others exist, some even more crude.”
Why did ED compose this poem? Lines 1-2 suggest she’s pissed off at almost everyone she knows, Lines 3-6 narrow exceptions to two, Lines 7-8, the other folks, she “could easily outgrow”. Someone has a stone in her shoe.
ReplyDelete