“The Soul Selects Her Own Society” (1862)

By Emily Dickinson

The Soul selects her own Society —

Then — shuts the Door —

To her divine Majority —

Present no more —

Unmoved — she notes the Chariots — pausing —

At her low Gate —

Unmoved — an Emperor be kneeling

Upon her Mat —

I've known her — from an ample nation —

Choose One —

Then — close the Valves of her attention —

Like Stone —

               Emily Dickinson’s poem, “The Soul Selects Her Own Society,” written in 1862, illustrates narcissism describing a woman who is independent and has her own beliefs and ideas about how to conduct herself and her life. “The Soul selects her own Society” shows that the speaker doesn’t believe she is born into a group of people; she believes that one chooses the people with whom one relates. The word, “unmoved” is used repeatedly in the second verse, illustrating that the speaker is so involved with her own world that she doesn’t care or notice that the Emperor is kneeling before her and the reverence shown to her. Lastly, the phrase, “Like Stone” further strengthens the idea that she is cold to everyone because she cares only about herself.

               Historically, America experienced expansion and the Manifest Destiny during the mid-19^th Century. America thought it was its right to expand its borders from coast to coast, while denying all right of the indigenous people (Murrin 406-14). Dickinson’s poem presents the sentiment of America during the time. America was focused only on itself and was not open to the opinions and actions of the world around it. Once again, the concept of Narcissism in the poem is still personified by a woman when she uses the pronoun “her,” similar to Rokeby Venus by Velasquez.

Murrin, John M. et al. Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People. United States: Thomas Wadsworth, 2005. 406-14.