Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 in the community of Amherst, Massachusetts. She was the second daughter of Edward and Emily Norcross Dickinson. Emily, her brother Austin, and her sister Lavinia were brought up and nurtured in a quiet reserved household headed by their father Edward. Throughout her life, her mother was not always around, or "accessible," a fact that is said to have caused Emilys eccentricity. They were raised in Puritanical Massachusetts, where they were expected to take on their fathers beliefs and values. Because Emily was the daughter of a prominent politician, she was able to get a good education at the Amherst Academy. After her time at the academy, she went to South Hadley Female Seminary where she started to become a young lady. Although she was indeed successful at college, Emily returned after only one year at the seminary to begin her life of seclusion.Although she never married, she had several significant relationships with a select few people. It was during the period after her return from school she began to dress in all white and chose few people that she would let into her own precious society. Emily refused to see almost everyone that came to visit her. She seldomly left her fathers house. In her entire life she took one trip to Philadelphia, Washington, and a few trips to Boston. Other than those trips, she did not leave her hometown. During this time which was her early twenties, Emily began to write poetry. Luckily for her, during those few journeys she met two men that would help her be of source of inspiration later on...Charles Wadsworth, and Thomas Higginson.Charles Wadsworth (age 41) had a positive effect on the life of Emily. She met Charles on her trip to Philadelphia. He was a clergyman and Emily looked to him with respect. He was similar to Emily in that he was a romantic person who sought solidarity too. It is said that although he was married, Emily had a ...
