The soul selects her own society

This poem about friendship or of love, if you prefer, illustrates why Dickinson has been called
the poet of exclusion. The poem describes choosing a friend (or lover), and rejecting (excluding)
all others. Do you feel a difference in her presentation of these two actions, selecting and
rejecting? does she emphasize selecting the friend more than rejecting all others, or is the act of
excluding emphasized?

Dickinson presents the individual as absolute and the right of the individual as unchallengeable.
In this poem, the soul's identity is assured. The unqualified belief in the individual and in self-
reliance is characteristically and quintessentially American.

This poem also illustrates Dickinson's tendency to write lines in units of two. If you look at the
lines, you will see that all the lines in this poem are organized in units of two.

Stanza 1

In lines 1 and 2, what sound is repeated? Is she emphasizing key words with this alliteration?

Dickinson has the "soul" doing the choosing. What aspects or part of the human being does
"soul" represent? For example, the stomach would represent appetite and hunger or express our
physical needs; the brain, as we discussed in class, our rational or intellectual side. Does using
"soul" give a high or a low value to the way this individual selects friends? Does she have
admirably high standards or is she despicably vain and insensitive?

The phrase "divine majority" is interesting. "Divine" does more than just continue the image of
"soul." It confers status (what higher status or rank could one have?), and status is an important
idea in Dickinson's poetry. We must now consider the meaning of "majority." Majority has
several meanings: (1) more than half, (2) the age of legal adulthood, no longer a minor, (3) the
military rank of major, (4) superiority (an obsolete meaning today). Which definition or
definitions are meant here? Think about how each one fits into the meaning of the poem and how
it adds to the effect of the poem and choose. It is possible, in a poem, for all these meanings to be
intended.

What kind of a gesture is shutting the door? Is it, for example, an action that leaves open the
possibility of change, or is it a final action? What are the connotations of the word "obtrude"?
Does it suggest a charming interruption, an offensive action, or some other type of behavior on
the part of the people who have been excluded?

Stanza 2

The soul is not won by worldly rank or power. A number of words indicate status: chariot, low
gate, emperor, kneeling, mat. Who has the superior worldly status? Is there a suggestion of status
and superiority in some other scale of values? Consider that the emperor has come to her, for his
chariot is at her gate. Is there a hint that he is courting her?
In line 3, Dickinson eliminates words; a careless reader might think that it is the emperor who is
unmoved, a confusing reading since he has come to her and is kneeling before her. Dickinson has
omitted the subject and verb, which she stated explicitly in line 1, "she notes." It is the soul who
is unmoved by the emperor's kneeling before her.

Stanza 3

Dickinson depicts the rigor and the finality of the soul's choice. The numerous field ("ample
nation") she has to choose among is contrasted with the narrowing of her choice, "one." What is
the effect of "ample" and "nation"? Having chosen, the soul closes the "valves" of her attention.
Does the soul have choice or control over valves? Do closed valves allow anything in? Would
her valves let anyone in? Is the phrase "like stone" relevant here? What is like stone--the soul's
choice, her attention, or the valves? What qualities do we associate with stone--warmth, cold,
softness, flexibility, hardness? Is it a coincidence that the poem ends with "stone" or is it
appropriate? Openings and closings get more attention than or stand out from the rest of a text
because of their position.

The last point I want to make concerns meter and line length. In every stanza, the first line is
longer (has more syllables and feet) than the other three. The second and fourth lines are shorter
(have fewer syllables and feet). However, in the last stanza, the second and fourth lines are
shorter than in the preceding stanzas; each line has only two syllables. This exceptionally short
line calls attention to itself; these lines sound hard, emphatic, and final, an appropriate effect for
the idea expressed in these lines

Critics note that poem 303 was written in 1862, the year Dickinson made her decision to
withdraw from the larger world. The poem, read in this simple way, simply states the need to live
by one's own choice. This reading, perfectly acceptable in itself, overlooks several important
phrases which have larger implications.

The first of these curious choices of language is “divine Majority,” in line 3. “The Soul” of line
1, not merely “a soul” or a person, shuts her door not only to people at large but also to the
majority, even those who bear the stamp of divine sanction. Read this way, the poem also
indicates the poet's decision not to join the society of the Elect, this even though “an emperor be
kneeling” on her doormat. The conduit of grace, an analogy favored in the sermons of Jonathan
Edwards, becomes “the Valves” of the soul's discrimination.

Though she remains “unmoved,” the soul is neither nihilistic nor solipsistic. Even as the
capitalized letter implies zero, the soul chooses “One” then becomes deaf to all entreaties “Like
Stone.” To insist that this necessarily indicates preference for a Unitarian rather than a
Trinitarian view carries the interpretation to a theological level that the poem's language will not
sustain. Nevertheless, selectivity in all matters, including religion, is something the poet clearly
favors.

On a complementary level, one notices the carefully crafted description of the woman not at
home to any callers, except one or at most a few. Read this way, which merely supplements the
other possible alternatives, the poem states the preference to live in a way unlike that of most
nineteenth century women, spurning the conventions of social obligation and what society
expects, even though an emperor might attempt to persuade her to join the larger group.

When the Martians invaded earth in 1897 H.G. Wells was not the only one to record the events.
There were in fact numerous authors and famous figures from all over the world who saw the
effects of the invasion. One of the more unusual of these was Emily Dickinson, and her records
of the event are examined in "The Soul Selects her own Society: Invasion and Repulsion, A
chronological representation of two of Emily Dickinson's poems: a Wellsian perspective".

One of the reasons that Emily Dickinson's connections and pomes about this event were so
extraordinary was that she was dead at the time. But for aliens able to cross between mars and
earth that hardly seems to matter.

The story revolves around two major things. Emily Dickenson's bad handwriting, which made it
possible for them to not immediately recognize the meaning of her poems which explains why
no one until now had knows she was involved in the events of the war of the worlds, and the near
rhyme.

The story is written by a college professor who is explaining the two odd poems. Explaining how
the words, which are nearly illegible could be referring to the alien invasion. It also helps to
explain why they left. As she wrote them a letter asking them to leave.

It is assumed that the simple act of writing the note probably wasn't enough, and so the college
professor suspects that it was the use of the near rhyme that helped fight off the alien invasion. It
is his contention that the aliens were so upset and confused by the near rhyme that they were
forced to flee the earth, and that had H.G. Wells simply known of the effects of near-rhymes on
the aliens that a great deal of trouble could have been saved.

I have only a passing knowledge of Emily Dickenson and her works and I suspect that a great
deal of the humor in this story would be strengthened by a better understanding of her. It speaks
of her dislike of the people around her, her connection to other authors, and many other things.
All of these while well enough explained would likely be funnier if I knew her character better.
This story also makes very liberal use of footnotes. Nearly every page has a few footnotes and
while some explain actual points in the story most are simply there as jokes. They add a great
deal to a story that could otherwise by both confusing and a bit dry.

This is quite a funny story, and if you are a fan of both H.G. Wells and Emily Dickinson I
suspect you would find even more to laugh at in this story.

Summary

The speaker says that “the Soul selects her own Society—” and then “shuts the Door,” refusing to admit
anyone else—even if “an Emperor be kneeling / Upon her mat—.” Indeed, the soul often chooses no more than
a single person from “an ample nation” and then closes “the Valves of her attention” to the rest of the world.

Form

The meter of “The Soul selects her own Society” is much more irregular and halting than the typical Dickinson
poem, although it still roughly fits her usual structure: iambic trimeter with the occasional line in tetrameter. It is
also uncharacteristic in that its rhyme scheme—if we count half-rhymes such as “Gate” and “Mat”—is ABAB,
rather than ABCB; the first and third lines rhyme, as well as the second and fourth. However, by using long
dashes rhythmically to interrupt the flow of the meter and effect brief pauses, the poem’s form remains
recognizably Dickinsonian, despite its atypical aspects.

Commentary

Whereas “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” takes a playful tone to the idea of reclusiveness and privacy, the tone of
“The Soul selects her own Society—” is quieter, grander, and more ominous. The idea that “The Soul selects
her own Society” (that people choose a few companions who matter to them and exclude everyone else from
their inner consciousness) conjures up images of a solemn ceremony with the ritual closing of the door, the
chariots, the emperor, and the ponderous Valves of the Soul’s attention. Essentially, the middle stanza
functions to emphasize the Soul’s stonily uncompromising attitude toward anyone trying to enter into her
Society once the metaphorical door is shut—even chariots, even an emperor, cannot persuade her. The third
stanza then illustrates the severity of the Soul’s exclusiveness—even from “an ample nation” of people, she
easily settles on one single person to include, summarily and unhesitatingly locking out everyone else. The
concluding stanza, with its emphasis on the “One” who is chosen, gives “The Soul selects her own Society—”
the feel of a tragic love poem, although we need not reduce our understanding of the poem to see its theme as
merely romantic. The poem is an excellent example of Dickinson’s tightly focused skills with metaphor and
imagery; cycling through her regal list of door, divine Majority, chariots, emperor, mat, ample nation, and stony
valves of attention, Dickinson continually surprises the reader with her vivid and unexpected series of images,
each of which furthers the somber mood of the poem.
Elizabeth Bowman's able explication of Emily Dickinson "The
Soul Selects Her Own Society" (EXP., Oct., 1970 , XXIX, 13) as a
poem which implicitly castigates people with closed minds invites
rebuttal on the basis of the overall tone of the poem--a tone which
would seem to substantiate the more traditional interpretation that
the poet is here projecting a vision of the exclusiveness of the inner
person (the soul). Whether such an exclusiveness is morally defensible
or not does not seem to be much at issue in the poem; the tone, in its
rather stern, matter-of-fact way, says, "Take it or leave it--that's the
way it is, baby."

Aside from admittedly hazy intuitive responses to tone, one can

point to some fairly objective evidence in support of this view. For
one thing, the poet speaks, not of some soul's only, but of "The Soul"
in general. It is difficult to believe that she is attempting to slander
the entire human race--including, presumably, herself--by accusing
everyone of having closed minds. When she does criticize her fellow
human beings (and that is rarely), she is much more specific about
the target of her displeasure--the hypocritical minister or church-goers
(Poem 324), for example, the "gentlewomen" with their "dimity
convictions" (Poem 401), or the fame-hungry types who enjoy telling
their names "the livelong June / To an admiring Bog" (Poem 288).
In such poems there is no mistaking the particular type of person she
is attempting to tell off.

Reference to the last poem brings up another point. There is a

strong note of what some might consider haughty exclusiveness in
both Emily Dickinson's life and her work. The derogatory tone of
"an admiring Bog" as a reference to the celebrity-adoring general
public is a clear example. What the poet seems to be doing in "The
Soul Selects Her Own Society," then, is simply to be asserting the right
and privilege of an individual sensitive enough to be said to have a soul,
to retreat, retire, withdraw from the mass of mankind into the ex-
clusive company of a single congenial soulmate (or the memory of
such a person), and this despite whatever exalted rank, by the material-
istic standards of the world, others who seek that individual's company
or want to share her privacy might possess. Thus even emperors are
kept outside the door.

As for the melodramatic hissing sound of the "s's" in the first line--
a sound Miss Bowman uses to cap her case--one can only remark that
sound effects in poetry are particularly tricky things to interpret from
a psychological point of view; when there is a clear case of onomat-
opoeia in question, and some audible sound in the real world is being
described by the sound of the words the poet uses (as in the textbook
examples of "dull thud" or "buzz" or "crackle," or in any line of Poe
"Bells"), the critic is entitled to crow triumphantly over his (or her)
discovery. But when there is anything at issue as subtle as Emily
Dickinson's attitude toward the aristocratic exclusiveness of the soul,
as in the poem in question, one must proceed with extreme care and
above all avoid trying to cinch one's case by referring in positive and

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final terms to a thing so delicate and elusive. Actually, the "s's" sound
villainous here only if one has alreadydecided that the poem is a ...