Emily dickinson: “she don't go nowhere”, or a nineteenth-century recluse's guide to cross-culturalism

Abstract

This article examines the cross-cultural and cross-class experiences recorded in Emily Dickinson's writings about two women with whom she had contact despite her extremely reclusive lifestyle. One of the women, domestic servant, Margaret Maher, an Irish worker who served in the Dickinson home for thirty years, also left written accounts. Her writing about Dickinson and the working conditions she experienced within the Dickinson household will make possible an understanding of the relationship between mistress and servant. The conditions faced by nineteenth-century domestics illustrate the difficulties and opportunities presented to women in a society that demanded their labour yet refused to grant them status. Maggie Maher's position reflected the situation of many competent Irish servants in New England households. Her devoted service provided significant assistance to Dickinson's literary work, as well as primary source material about the daily life of New England gentry.