Emily Dickinson wrote many amazing works explaining the depth of her heart. Her Christian education affected her writings profoundly. Her desire to have and understand faith enlivens her poetry. She lived at home, with her family until she died, only leaving for a few years of schooling. When she died, only seven of her poems had been published, and the rest, were later published by Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Did Dickinson continue to see God in a loving way throughout her life? We know that she sometimes saw heaven as a chance to escape the suffering of this world, however, did she have one constant opinion of heaven? Did Emily ever find true love in her life, and how would it affect her poems? We will discuss and attempt to answer all of these questions.
             Emily Dickinson's view of God changes drastically throughout her life. James McIntosh tells us that as a young woman, she showed gratitude to a God who relieves suffering rather than inflicting it. In 1854 she sent a letter to Abiah Root to say "Sue Gilbert is recovering from 'Nervous Fever' not only with the help of 'an excellent Nurse' and 'a faithful physician', but also because 'God has been loving and kind'"(McIntosh 41). Because of her family's relationship to the church, she had been raised hearing about God's goodness. However, when she returned home from school, where she began experiencing doubts about His goodness, she began to blame God instead of show Him gratitude. She started wondering why God, who plans and determines all things, would cause pain and death. He is responsible for the skewed condition of the unfair world. All of humankind must live here, and lose their innocence as they experience the suffering of this world. The more we experience, the more we doubt His goodness. She says that comprehending leads to the bitterness of the sorely afflicted in Poem 67, stanza 1: Success is counted swe...