Success Is Counted Sweetest

As detailed in the biography section of this guide, Emily Dickinson retreated from social life around 1858. A closer look at the socio-historical context in which Dickinson studied and wrote provides some additional insight into what may have inspired her work. Some scholars trace Dickinson’s reclusive tendencies to the homesickness she expresses in her letters written while at Mount Holyoke Seminary. Dickinson’s father has been described as “domineering,” which may have contributed to her sense of isolation.

While critics have posthumously hailed Dickinson as a poetic genius, during her lifetime, Dickinson infrequently shared her poems and did so mostly with close acquaintances or family members. As one source explains, “She never married, despite several romantic correspondences, and was better-known as a gardener than as a poet while she was alive” (“A Short Analysis of Emily Dickinson’s ‘Success is Counted Sweetest.” Interesting Literature. 2022). Dickinson was aware of the restrictions society placed upon her as a young woman in the 19th century. As Poetry Foundation explains, upon leaving schools, “unmarried daughters were indeed expected to demonstrate their dutiful nature by setting aside their own interests in order to meet the needs of the home” (“