Maybe it’s the 13 years of Catholic education but my eyes were immediately drawn to all of the God stuff in these letters. As it says in the note on Letter 46 churches were a social hub and often hosted a number of musicians as well as delivering services. Of course then it makes sense for the Dickinsons to be involved with their church socially as well as theologically. What stood out to me was a specific section of Letter 13 to her friend Abiah Root. 

“But I feel that I have not yet made my peace with God. I am still a s[tran]ger- to the delightful emotions which fill your heart. I have perfect confidence in God & his promises & yet I know not why, I feel that the world holds a predominant place in my affections. I do not feel that I could give up all for Christ, were I called to die.” 

I really love this section of the letter for a couple of reasons but mostly because Emily Dickinson is so connected to depictions of death but, at least in 1846, she was not willing to be a martyr. In the biographies on the Dickinson museum site, It was clear that her connections to death came more so in her later life during her “writing days” and “later years” but it is still so interesting to read a letter from when she is 16 to her friend in which she is grappling with the implications of being ready to die for Christ if called. This is especially interesting because she was pretty consistently sick throughout her young life and would have had to face certain elements of mortality with family members even before the time period in the late 1800s that was especially filled with death. I think that this calls to mind the mentality of the popular culture at the time that a woman her age would feel obligated to her faith in this way. However, it seems that Emily is not the only one to have feelings about martyrdom. Emily tells Austin that Vinnie “thinks ancient martyrs very trifling indeed” (Letter 66). As we read her poetry and delve into the eras of her works that center on death I am intrigued to see how these connections to religion get more complicated or resolved throughout her poetry. 

God and organized religion seem to be more prominent in Dickinson’s life and letters due to societal and community expectations as well as personal beliefs. Based on her biographies and letters Dickinson’s relationship with spirituality has a nuance and depth that may seep into her poetry.