What the publisher obviously didn't understand at the time is there was nothing "mainstream" about the poet who went on to produce more than 1,700 poems before her death at the age of 55. .

             "And with the perfection of her art followed the perfection of reclusion(Emily Dickinson: Poet and Reclusehttp://www.hermitary.com/articles/dickinson.html).".

             She lived a life that was so private that today it would be called an extension of mental illness. Whether she had panic attacks has never been documented but her chosen life of seclusion created the picture of someone who was afraid of society. If someone today turns themselves into the same type of recluse that Emily Dickinson became they are labeled mentally ill and most likely would be taken to a mental health professional for evaluation, however in the mid-1800's such things were not yet discovered, therefore Dickinson was allowed to shut herself into a room and become a recluse. Her decision to do so played out well for fans of poetry today as her reclusive life provided plenty of fodder for her poems that fixated on death, rejection and loneliness. .

             Emily's father was not a successful man. He was considered slow witted and dull however he was well known for his high sense of integrity. .

             He did rule his home with an iron fist which may help to explain the later reclusive nature of his daughter. .

             While her father was away on trips quite often her mother was emotionally unavailable to the children because of her own frail and anxious nature. .

             "Dickinson was to write that she was like a motherless child, except when the relationship reversed during her mother's last years as an invalid, when daughter became mother and mother became childlike(Emily Dickinson: Poet and Reclusehttp://www.hermitary.com/articles/dickinson.html).".

             Dickinson received what at that time was referred to as the classic education. Her studies included Greek, Latin and botany. She refused to become a school teacher , which had been the wish of her father and instead settled in at home and became more reclusive.