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Date:         Thu, 26 Mar 1998 06:53:54 -0600
Reply-To: Emily Dickinson Discussion List <DICKNSON@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU>
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From: Tim Morris <tmorris@UTARLG.UTA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Poem 341
To: DICKNSON@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 19:23:41 -0500 (EST)
From: LouisFors <LouisFors@aol.com>
To: DICKNSON@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU
Subject: Re: Poem 341


In a message dated 98-03-25 17:23:15 EST,Amit wrote :

>     I really do not think this is a poem about pain and suffering. She
>  seems to be describing a stage one reaches after having suffered a great
>  deal. This is evident from the first line as well as the last stanza
>  (where she gives the three stages in metaphor comparing it with freezing).
>  I do not see any description of everyday life here. She emphasises the
>  senses as being dead (tombs). Feet walking along A WOODEN WAY, without any
>  regard to where they are going. This is what I would say she means by
>  Quartz contentment too, a sort of adaptation..again devoid of any feeling
>  like a stone. Hope I am not really off the point..
>
>  bye
>
>  Amit

I think you define pain too narrowly, Amit.  Pain can include physical pain,
loss of a loved one, or emotional trauma of various kinds.  And I don't think
there is good reason to dismiss Dickinson's use of the word "pain" in her
first line.  Yes, the poem is about the aftermath of suffering a great deal as
you point out.  But suffering a great deal, for whatever reason, means one has
been in pain of some kind.  Those aftermaths can include the feelings you
note.

Cheers,

Louis Forsdale