Emily Dickinson's Homosexual Orientation

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Seung-Jin Baek. 2004. Emily Dickinson's Homosexual Orientation. The British & American Language and Literature. 20-1. 115-128. In the Western feminist movement, the division between lesbian and heterosexual women played an important role in the development of the movement. The aim of lesbianism was to articulate connections between lesbianism and feminism and to create new and positive images. Lesbian feminists tried to challenge and supplant the oppressive stereotype which dominated public opinion. While the heterosexual feminist movement is formed in the established male-centered boundaries, lesbian feminists are primarily committed to women. That is, while heterosexual feminists try to achieve authenticity through the male-female relationship, lesbian feminists try to achieve authenticity through identifying themselves with women. Emily Dickinson participated in such relationships with women and practiced the concept of lesbian continuum throughout her life. In the poems dealing with the relationship with male sexuality, Dickinson is always hierarchically inferior to male sexuality which relegates women to sexual and family functions. The male power scorches and scathes her existence. So, Dickinson finds a way to identify and utilize specifically female power in her work and then tries to create a new consciousness which can be shared among women.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• ABSTRACT
• Ⅰ.Introduction
• Ⅱ.Theoretical Background and Dickinson's Agony
• Ⅲ.Adrienne Rich's Lesbian Continuum and Dickinson
• Ⅳ.Conclusion
• Works Cited