![]() Tangible constructions in the form of architectural metaphors lend support to her inherently ambiguous and often uncanny subject matter. Overall, Dickinson’s poetry presents the reader with a phenomenology of home inextricable from the Gothic mode. She treats the house as an ambiguous subject and a powerful setting that can indicate a radical differentiation between the meaning and unmeaning of events, and the significance or insignificance of persons. Dickinson also discusses houses in a similar way to Gothic authors-namely, she writes of the house’s dual nature, that it can be both familiar and frightening, and that it is an uncanny space. These spaces present positive possibilities as well as menacing confinement, a duality fundamental to the Gothic genre. Readings of Dickinson’s poems demonstrate that the home may be seen as both a physical space (the house) and a mental space (the mind). Their influence combines with her preoccupation with the space of the home, a predilection reflected in her letters and her poetry. Analysis of nineteenth century Gothic texts will provide evidence that an admiration of female Gothic authors lead Dickinson to emulate many of the themes, motifs, and symbols they used. This essay will explore the image of the Gothic home in Emily Dickinson’s poetry using close readings of her poems and historical sources.
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