Courtships

Abstract

All the Dickinson acquaintances knew that Vinnie was the daughter who would marry—she was pretty, she was vivacious, she was far from shy. During the early years of their mother’s illness, both Vinnie and Emily seemed to be encouraging suitors—Vinnie was courted visibly by a Northampton banker (Longsworth Amherst 67), and we have seen that, after months of hesitation, Dickinson seemed to encourage Judge Lord. It will be several years later before Austin brings an unexpected scandal to the pristine Dickinson name, when he falls in love with the young wife of Amherst College’s new astronomer. The consequences for not only the Dickinson family, but for the efforts to preserve Emily Dickinson’s work, are far-reaching.