Female Awareness Subverting Patriarchy

Emily Dickinson was unique in her way of living, her way of composing poems and her poetic theme. This thesis is going to lend explanation to the uniqueness of Emily Dickinson from the feminist perspective. The United States in the nineteenth century was a typical patriarchal society. Though Emily Dickinson might not mean to behave in a feminist way, her reclusion from social activities and her choice of being a poetess were really a slap to the patriarchy based on man/woman dualism. Emily Dickinson was challenging the patriarchy not only in her way of living, but also in her poems. She insisted on her own unique poetic style and developed a totally unconventional theme. Her work was partly a response to the patriarchal culture of the nineteenth century.