Theodora V.W. Ward

Editing Emily

Capsule of the Mind: Chapters in the Life of Emily Dickinson

Sense of the Book

Reviews

Owen Thomas, New England Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 3.

"Four of the six 'chapters' in this avowedly psychological study of Emily Dickinson's life appeared as essays before being collected into this volume" (413). These were the introductory material on the Hollands in Emily Dickinson's Letters to Dr. and Mrs. Josiah Gilbert Holland; "Emily Dickinson and T.W. Higginson;" "Ourself behind ourself: An interpretation of the crisis in the life of Emily Dickinson;" and "The Finest Secret." Owens goes on "The two new chapters deal with 'elements in the inner life of the young Emily Dickinson' and with another friend, Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield Republican." Owens attributes "both the strengths and weaknesses of the book to Mrs. Ward's self-imposed restrictions" (413-4) with regard to her choice of poems for support.

Perhaps the most interesting assessment in the review is Owens' assumption that Mrs. Ward had more success discussing subjects because she brought to it "a feminine point of view" (414). He wrote "Mrs. Ward writes with considerable ease, however, and when her narrative is based on fact her account is readable and informative, more so perhaps than those of the poet's earlier biographers" with reference to "the year at Mt. Holyoke and the influence of the poet's father, Ben Newton, and the Reverend Charles Wadsworth" (414).

Owens takes great exception to Ward's Jungian interpretations particularly with regard to the "Dream King." He writes "As a classic description of Jungian analysis, this is excellent; as interpretive biography, it is -- at best -- moot" (415). In spite of that, he recommends the book "if the reader keeps Mrs. Ward's psychological bias clearly in mind, he will certainly see Emily Dickinson in a new and revealing light" (415).
Article accessed through JSTOR, February 1, 2005.

Henry W. Wells, American Literature, Vol 34, No. 1.

The review begins by saying that Ward's book differs radically from previous books about the poet. Wells calls it "a work of scholarly imagination, discerningly thought through and hence essentially original... Combining diligent research with careful judgement and creative thought" (124). He then makes some rather rude observations of previous biographies which gave the impression of being "uncomfortably enlarged inasmuch as the biographer has felt that there is really no story to tell, that she was born, lived singularly uneventful days, left her principal relationships of an emotional nature a mystery, and silently bequeathed a legacy of poems to mankind." God help us! The man wrote truth.

He gives high praise to Ward in contrast. "Mrs. Ward as a prose writer is at least distantly related to Emily Dickinson as a poet" (124) because of her succinctness. In reference to Ward's treatment of "the possiblity of a lover now unknown or unsuspected and possibly never to be identified ... [Ward] identifies Emily, not the lover. This proves to be no more defective in the art of her portraiture than darkness is defective in a Rembrandt. She even turns shadows to account" (125).

In his final assessment Wells wrote "It is admirably what it sets out to be, distinguished by the soundness and sobriety of its scholarship, the insight of its psychology, and the artistry of its composition" (125).
Article accessed through JSTOR, February 1, 2005.
[Note: Columbia University follows Wells' name.]

Joe Psarto

In a less than complimentary review of Emily Dickinson (Radcliffe Biography Series) by Cynthia Griffin Wolff, Joe Psarto wrote:

"I do not worry about scholars reading this book. In fact they should read it. They will easily discover those parts that are useful---and there are many---and discard the rest. But what about young students? What of those who do not know Emily and pick this book as their first meeting with her?

"Instead, may I suggest they read "The Capsule of the Mind" by Theodora Ward. It is also a psychological look at Emily Dickinson. Ward is the granddaughter of Doctor and Mrs. Josiah Gilbert Holland, two of Emily's closest friends. Ward was also an assistant to Thomas H. Johnson, Harvard University, the person most responsible for bringing us Emily's letters and poems. In fact, Ward herself was inspired to become a Dickinson scholar when she discovered sixty-five of Emily's letters in her family's attic."