Recently I have stumbled across a new lady love, Emily Dickinson. Sure, I have heard her name hundreds of time before, and I knew she was somewhat a literary star, but I must admit my ignorance. I had no idea who she really was or what her story was. Luckily for me, we live in an age of TV re-hashes. Where original ideas are slowing down, so TV producers need to take historical events, people, or in some case old shows and ‘re-make’ them so that they can keep the people interested. Well, this time, it has worked.
Apple TV has released a series called ‘Dickinson’ which is a modern twist on the life of Emily Dickinson. It is loosely based on her life, with the backdrop of her time, but it is accompanied by a modern day soundtrack, modern day lingo, and some allusions to modern day themes. From my description, it doesn’t sound as great as I promise you it is. It’s entertaining, funny and has some truths that hit far too close from home. And it sucked me into the world of Emily Dickinson.
Emily Dickinson grew up in a time where women were to be home-makers. They were married off young by their parents, and had to focus on cooking, cleaning and other chores around the house. Emily Dickinson never fit into that mould, instead always aspiring to be a published poet.
It was one thing for a woman to try and consider herself a poet or writer, it was another to even think about getting published. Sadly, Emily didn’t receive much fame during her life because of this restriction, but she never stopped writing and she never stopped being true to who she was.
She never married, because she didn’t see why she should have to. She wanted to pursue her dream of writing, which she did, and whilst she was much more privileged than others in that she had the status to spend all her time following her dreams instead of marrying off to keep a roof over her head, she faced her fair share of prejudice and heartache along the way.
Each episode has the undertones of one of Dickinson’s poems, and so I liked to explore each poem at the conclusion of the episode. One of the poems really stuck with me. It goes like this;
“I am afraid to own a body –
I am afraid to own a soul –
Profound – precarious property –
Possession, not optional –
Double estate – entailed at pleasure
Upon an unsuspecting heir –
Duke in a moment of Deathlessness
And God, for a Frontier.”
That someone could write something so beautiful, when the whole world is telling her it isn’t her place to even understand such beauty, is such a wondrous thing. That we can still enjoy Emily Dickinson’s writing, because she refused to give up on her dreams, is even more wondrous.
So I have one thing to thank TV for, providing me with my latest heroine, the great Emily Dickinson.
A Turtle Stranger 