tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post1357121005407089140..comments2024-03-29T00:07:13.458-07:00Comments on the prowling Bee: The lonesome for they know not What—Susan Kornfeldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-31870622726675633752023-05-22T11:41:06.809-07:002023-05-22T11:41:06.809-07:00Stanza 1 of F218 (1861), ‘You love me – you are su...Stanza 1 of F218 (1861), ‘You love me – you are sure’:<br /><br />You love me – you are sure –<br />I shall not fear mistake – <br />I shall not cheated wake – <br />Some grinning morn – <br />To find the Sunrise left – <br />And Orchards – unbereft – <br />And Dollie – gone!<br /><br />ED imagines waking “Some grinning morn” and finding that Dollie has vanished from their bed. Not a smoking gun, but this verse sure suggests an insecure lesbian’s nightmare to me. Bendelee’s "sad" queer reading is spot on.<br /><br />Johnson (1958) adds a note to his “Work Metadata” annotation: "Dollie was a pet name for Sue, to whom a copy now lost was probably sent."<br />Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-86290450439174668052023-05-22T09:15:50.199-07:002023-05-22T09:15:50.199-07:00Continuing the slant of Bendelee’s insightful comm...Continuing the slant of Bendelee’s insightful comment sends me dashing back to an early ED poem, which, interpreted as Bendelee suggests, sheds a lesbian light on ED’s vision of Heaven. Conscious or subconscious, her hints cannot be ignored. <br /><br />Note shared words and ideas in F13 and F326, especially the birds of Lines 10 and 7, respectively.<br /><br />J24, Fr13 (1858)<br /><br />There is a morn by men unseen—<br />Whose maids upon remoter green<br />Keep their Seraphic May—<br />And all day long, with dance and game,<br />And gambol I may never name—<br />Employ their holiday.<br /><br />Here to light measure, move the feet<br />Which walk no more the village street—<br />Nor by the wood are found—<br />Here are the birds that sought the sun<br />When last year's distaff idle hung<br />And summer's brows were bound.<br /><br />Ne'er saw I such a wondrous scene—<br />Ne'er such a ring on such a green—<br />Nor so serene array—<br />As if the stars some summer night<br />Should swing their cups of Chrysolite—<br />And revel till the day—<br /><br />Like thee to dance—like thee to sing—<br />People upon the mystic green—<br />I ask, each new May Morn.<br />I wait thy far, fantastic bells—<br />Announcing me in other dells –<br />Unto the different dawn! <br />Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-52042868524767411762023-05-21T18:42:02.228-07:002023-05-21T18:42:02.228-07:00Not saying the physical lesbian relationship conti...Not saying the physical lesbian relationship continued after Sue's marriage, but stay tuned for future comments. Sue and Austin had three children, but apparently something was missing sexually from their marriage. It's hard to believe and Sue wasn't happy about it, but in 1882 Austin began a long sexual relationship with Mabel Todd, wife of an Amherst College professor. This ménage à trois continued until Austin's death in 1895. Amherst wasn't amused but publicly accepted the breach of Victorian PCness because the Dickinson family had been civic leaders for three generations.Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-41496093369857184382023-05-21T18:23:27.535-07:002023-05-21T18:23:27.535-07:00“I know it’s not what she meant, but in a queer re...“I know it’s not what she meant, but in a queer reading, it’s like the experience of the joy of accepting yourself . . . , then only to face loneliness. Every circuit party seems filled with eastern exiles trying to recapture a long lost moment of bliss.” Comment by “bendelee”, July 10, 2020.<br /><br />Actually, I think it is what she meant. Yes, she had the hots, in a religious way, for Reverend Charles Wadsworth (see comments F325), but he “left the land” for San Francisco on June 1, 1862. And she had two other male mentors before Wadsworth, Leonard Humphrey (1825-1850) and Benjamin F. Newton (1830-1852), but these were not romantic interests. <br />ED’s only real romantic interest was the young Susan Gilbert, whom she first met in 1847 when both were 16. It’s a long story, but many ED fans, including myself, think their love included a physical lesbian relationship. That ended when Susan, with ED’s initial encouragement, married ED’s brother, Austin, on July 1, 1856. There is credible evidence that ED referred to Sue as “Sweet” in seven poems (see my Comment #5, on F323):<br /><br />F323 About early 1862<br />F470 About late 1862<br />F652 About second half 1863<br />F661 About second half 1863<br />F734 About the second half 1863<br />F816 About 1864 (A) and about 1865 (B)<br />F1061 About 1865<br />Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-27253033922126273112023-05-21T15:10:27.801-07:002023-05-21T15:10:27.801-07:00After a third reading of ‘The lonesome for they k...After a third reading of ‘The lonesome for they know not What’, I knew I was in deep water. ED has done it again, dropped a poem there is no way to imagine coming, especially not on the heels of ‘There came a Day—at Summer's full’. Truly, like Cleopatra, “She makes hungry / Where most she satisfies / The holy priests Bless her when she is riggish”. She guarantees good sleep tonight. Ready, set, here we go, again!Larry Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-45189365202688732822020-07-10T23:42:39.822-07:002020-07-10T23:42:39.822-07:00That is sad and I can see it in the poem. Thank yo...That is sad and I can see it in the poem. Thank you.Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-69075610242350952362020-07-10T16:01:40.455-07:002020-07-10T16:01:40.455-07:00I know it’s not what she meant, but in a queer rea...I know it’s not what she meant, but in a queer reading, it’s like the experience of the joy of a accepting yourself and being accepted by other exiles, then only to face loneliness. Every circuit party seems filled with eastern exiles trying to recapture a long lost moment of bliss.bendeleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01004976121126793756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-64308655154042370722017-02-22T11:32:34.154-08:002017-02-22T11:32:34.154-08:00I like the Edenic interpretation, although there i...I like the Edenic interpretation, although there is another as well. "The East" was a popular trope for the resurrection after death at the time. This may be another proleptic poem.jackdarrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04375964003194073033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-89467164461664305282017-02-22T10:08:24.542-08:002017-02-22T10:08:24.542-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.jackdarrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04375964003194073033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-51751673640962405372015-05-24T14:54:37.251-07:002015-05-24T14:54:37.251-07:00Ah... that makes sense, though surely they knew wh...Ah... that makes sense, though surely they knew what they were lonesome for. Thank you.Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-79639033180742962052015-05-24T10:06:38.374-07:002015-05-24T10:06:38.374-07:00Eastern Exiles is probably reference to Adam and E...Eastern Exiles is probably reference to Adam and Eve who were expelled east of Eden.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com