*I'm very much like Emily concerning nature and religion.
https://www.annebronte.org/2018/05/20/a-tale-of-two-emilys-bronte-and-dickinson/
Emily Dickinson’s famously poetic last words were: "I must go in, the fog is rising." This brief message was recorded by her niece, Martha Dickinson Bianchi. It perfectly mirrored the enigmatic and introspective style of her writing, and "Called Back" (the phrase she frequently used in her final letters) was even chosen by her family as her epitaph.
Emily Dickinson never formally joined a church and frequently questioned strict Calvinist orthodoxies, making her one of the earliest literary proponents of "spiritual but not religious" individualism. While deeply knowledgeable about scripture, she found solace in nature and her own private spirituality rather than organized religion.
The Calvinist Upbringing
Dickinson grew up in a devoutly Calvinist, Puritan-heritage household in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her family regularly attended the First Congregational Church, and she studied the Bible extensively from a young age. However, despite multiple religious revivals sweeping through her town and college, she could never bring herself to formally declare her faith or profess to be "saved".
Personal Spirituality vs. Orthodoxy
Rather than embracing rigid religious doctrines, Dickinson carved out her own independent spirituality:
Rejection of Dogma:
She frequently wrote with irony and skepticism about the strict rules and demanding rituals of the church, sometimes viewing traditional religion as oppressive.
Nature as the Sanctuary:
Dickinson found the divine in her immediate, earthly surroundings. In poems like "Some keep the Sabbath going to Church," she describes a private, quiet Sabbath spent at home where her garden serves as the choir and God himself is the preacher.
Spiritual Tension: Her relationship with God and faith was famously complex. She alternated between seeking union with the divine and expressing profound doubt, viewing faith as a continuous, internal struggle.
Focus on the Present
Unlike her church-going contemporaries who focused heavily on sin and the afterlife, Dickinson was deeply invested in the immediate, human-sized experiences of earthly life. She remained heavily suspicious of traditional concepts of Heaven and Hell.
To explore further, you can read more about her life and her intricate relationship with the church through the Emily Dickinson Museum.
On her deathbed, EMILY DICKINSON [1830 – 1886] said:
‘I MUST GO IN, THE FOG IS RISING"
Dickinson's health declined sharply over the last years of her life, until she finally became bedridden and only able to write brief notes. Her niece, Martha, said this 'briefest last message' was reminiscent of 'an oft-repeated family caution, “it was already growing damp”.' Her physician gave the cause of death as Bright’s disease, a kidney ailment now called nephritis.
On her death day, her brother Austin recorded in his diary: “She ceased to breathe that terrible breathing just before the whistles sounded for six [p.m.]. In a remarkable obituary for The Springfield Republican, a friend expressed: “A Damascus blade gleaming and glancing in the sun was her wit. Her swift poetic rapture was like the long glistening note of a bird one hears in the June woods at high noon, but can never see” .
Writers influence each other. Emily Dickinson had a deep, lifelong admiration for Emily Brontë. While Dickinson is often recognized as a major admirer, her favorite poet was actually English poet and novelist Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Dickinson read Barrett Browning's long narrative poem "Aurora Leigh" and kept a framed portrait of her in her bedroom. Barrett Browning’s profound influence on Dickinson's work is well documented. However, her connection to Emily Brontë was intensely personal. Dickinson’s deep appreciation for Brontë’s writing included:
"No Coward Soul": Dickinson so revered Brontë’s poem "No Coward Soul Is Mine" that it was specifically chosen and read at Dickinson's funeral.
The "Two Emilys": Dickinson frequently praised Brontë, referring to her as "gigantic" and "marvellous".Influence: Both women shared themes of the soul, subjective experience, and intense inner worlds, leading experts to frequently compare them as parallel literary geniuses.
Short story by Clara Mae Gregory
Written on 2026-06-14 at 14:27
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https://www.annebronte.org/2018/05/20/a-tale-of-two-emilys-bronte-and-dickinson/
Famous Last Words
From AI Overview]Emily Dickinson’s famously poetic last words were: "I must go in, the fog is rising." This brief message was recorded by her niece, Martha Dickinson Bianchi. It perfectly mirrored the enigmatic and introspective style of her writing, and "Called Back" (the phrase she frequently used in her final letters) was even chosen by her family as her epitaph.
Emily Dickinson never formally joined a church and frequently questioned strict Calvinist orthodoxies, making her one of the earliest literary proponents of "spiritual but not religious" individualism. While deeply knowledgeable about scripture, she found solace in nature and her own private spirituality rather than organized religion.
The Calvinist Upbringing
Dickinson grew up in a devoutly Calvinist, Puritan-heritage household in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her family regularly attended the First Congregational Church, and she studied the Bible extensively from a young age. However, despite multiple religious revivals sweeping through her town and college, she could never bring herself to formally declare her faith or profess to be "saved".
Personal Spirituality vs. Orthodoxy
Rather than embracing rigid religious doctrines, Dickinson carved out her own independent spirituality:
Rejection of Dogma:
She frequently wrote with irony and skepticism about the strict rules and demanding rituals of the church, sometimes viewing traditional religion as oppressive.
Nature as the Sanctuary:
Dickinson found the divine in her immediate, earthly surroundings. In poems like "Some keep the Sabbath going to Church," she describes a private, quiet Sabbath spent at home where her garden serves as the choir and God himself is the preacher.
Spiritual Tension: Her relationship with God and faith was famously complex. She alternated between seeking union with the divine and expressing profound doubt, viewing faith as a continuous, internal struggle.
Focus on the Present
Unlike her church-going contemporaries who focused heavily on sin and the afterlife, Dickinson was deeply invested in the immediate, human-sized experiences of earthly life. She remained heavily suspicious of traditional concepts of Heaven and Hell.
To explore further, you can read more about her life and her intricate relationship with the church through the Emily Dickinson Museum.
On her deathbed, EMILY DICKINSON [1830 – 1886] said:
‘I MUST GO IN, THE FOG IS RISING"
Dickinson's health declined sharply over the last years of her life, until she finally became bedridden and only able to write brief notes. Her niece, Martha, said this 'briefest last message' was reminiscent of 'an oft-repeated family caution, “it was already growing damp”.' Her physician gave the cause of death as Bright’s disease, a kidney ailment now called nephritis.
On her death day, her brother Austin recorded in his diary: “She ceased to breathe that terrible breathing just before the whistles sounded for six [p.m.]. In a remarkable obituary for The Springfield Republican, a friend expressed: “A Damascus blade gleaming and glancing in the sun was her wit. Her swift poetic rapture was like the long glistening note of a bird one hears in the June woods at high noon, but can never see” .
Writers influence each other. Emily Dickinson had a deep, lifelong admiration for Emily Brontë. While Dickinson is often recognized as a major admirer, her favorite poet was actually English poet and novelist Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Dickinson read Barrett Browning's long narrative poem "Aurora Leigh" and kept a framed portrait of her in her bedroom. Barrett Browning’s profound influence on Dickinson's work is well documented. However, her connection to Emily Brontë was intensely personal. Dickinson’s deep appreciation for Brontë’s writing included:
"No Coward Soul": Dickinson so revered Brontë’s poem "No Coward Soul Is Mine" that it was specifically chosen and read at Dickinson's funeral.
The "Two Emilys": Dickinson frequently praised Brontë, referring to her as "gigantic" and "marvellous".Influence: Both women shared themes of the soul, subjective experience, and intense inner worlds, leading experts to frequently compare them as parallel literary geniuses.
Short story by Clara Mae Gregory
Written on 2026-06-14 at 14:27
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text| Texts |
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