SOURCE: "'He Asked If I Was His': The Seductions of Emily Dickinson," in ESQ, Vol. 40, No. 1, 1994, pp. 27-65.

In the following essay, Smith traces the influence of Dickinson 's relationship to the "disciplinary power of her patriarchal culture, " arguing that this power struggle is portrayed in Dickinson 's use of the "trope of seduction. "

The poetry of Emily Dickinson is a superb testing ground for any literary analysis that emphasizes historical considerations. Indeed, while recent critical studies that attempt to "relate" Dickinson to her contemporary culture are interesting and informative, it would be more difficult to argue that any are particularly revelatory. I would suggest that the affinities such studies trace between the poet's culture and her text are of limited validity due to the implicit determinism of their method.¹ The central problem with these critical texts (and, to a degree, also their merit) is their monologic ambition...