ellauri078.html on line 135: Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on December 10, 1830 to Edward and Emily (Norcross) Dickinson. At the time of her birth, Emily’s father was an ambitious young lawyer. Educated at Amherst and Yale, he returned to his hometown and joined the ailing law practice of his father, Samuel Fowler Dickinson. Edward also joined his father in the family home, the Homestead, built by Samuel Dickinson in 1813. Active in the Whig Party, Edward Dickinson was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature (1837-1839) and the Massachusetts State Senate (1842-1843).
ellauri078.html on line 139: By the time of Emily’s early childhood, there were three children in the household. Her brother, William Austin Dickinson, had preceded her by a year and a half. Her sister, Lavinia Norcross Dickinson, was born in 1833. All three children attended the one-room primary school in Amherst and then moved on to Amherst Academy, the school out of which Amherst College had grown. The brother and sisters’ education was soon divided. Austin was sent to Williston Seminary in 1842; Emily and Vinnie continued at Amherst Academy.
ellauri078.html on line 157: Particularly annoying were the number of calls expected of the women in the Homestead. Edward Dickinson’s prominence meant a tacit support within the private sphere. The daily rounds of receiving and paying visits were deemed essential to social standing. Not only were visitors to the college welcome at all times in the home, but also members of the Whig Party or the legislators with whom Edward Dickinson worked. Emily Norcross Dickinson’s retreat into poor health in the 1850s may well be understood as one response to such a routine.
ellauri323.html on line 347: Pastori Mooren kuoleman jälkeen Mary muutti Mariannen ja Warnerin Carlisleen Pennsylvaniaan, missä he ystävystyivät paikallisen pastorin George Norcrossin perheen kanssa. Mary ja kolmas Norcrossin tytär, myös nimeltään Mary, rakastuivat pian; Mary Moore oli 38-vuotias ja Mary Norcross 25-vuotias, kun he aloittivat suhteen, joka kesti lähes kymmenen vuotta. Voidaan väittää, että 13-vuotiaasta lähtien Moore oli ensimmäinen kaliiperinsa amerikkalainen kirjailija, joka oli kasvatettu homoseksuaalisen naisparin toimesta.
ellauri323.html on line 349: Älyköiden äityköiden väliset kirjeet on suurimmaksi osaksi tuhottu, mutta muutamat jäljellä olevat viittaavat suureen intohimoon, ja Norcross odottaa "ilta toisensa jälkeen" toistensa "saamista", "ahneina" odotuksessa, "nälkäisenä" Mary Mooren "arvokkaan itsensä puolesta".
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