In the Name of the Bee: The Significance of Emily Dickinson

by Mary James Power

Hardcover

First published June 1, 1970

Reviews

[Emma Dreher · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a while, In the Name of the Bee: The Significance of Emily Dickinson has peaked my interest at the library each time I passed it. It's an older hardcover, a first edition, from 1943 and has that beautiful old book smell. I skimmed the pages, which is an error on my part, and found the analysis of Dickinson's writing well articulated.

The book is split into seven parts, each one arguing Dickinson's view on religion. So, as someone who grew up religious (Christian) and is no longer, I had to lock in and start taking notes!

Part 1 & 2 are short and to the point. It gave an introduction to Emily's relationship with God vs. the congregation. It showcased how Emily believes that there is Love in God, not Fear of God. I like the perspective, as it is refreshing to hear. I side with Emily on the idea of no one way to "correctly worship" a God / follow a religion.

Part 2 & 3 are a bit longer and begin to feel convoluted in references. Mary Power argues that serving God is our purpose, period. Now, here is where you lose me. For one, there is no counter argument provided and is spoken as fact, not interpretation. Then, Mary Power dives into Jesuit philosophy with references to popular Romanticist poets: Wordsworth, Burns, Turner, etc. Luckily enough, I am extremely familiar with these references, however, it may be difficult for anyone to pick up. But, then again, Power may be assuming not the every day person would pick this book up. Besides that, we begin the analogy of the book title, and that is Emily defining the bee in her poem, In the Name of the Bee, as God, the butterfly is the Son of Christ, and the breeze is the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, Emily views nature as having its own purpose, each and every rock or stone on a path. Again, this is refreshing, bordering a little on Paganism though. But, this concept is never touched on again.

Part 5-7 are the meat and main arguments, but yet again, riddled with literature references to Keats, the Bronte sisters, Walt Whitman, Shelley, even George Eliot. It feels a bit all over the place given the context is death, because Emily has written tons of pieces on death. Her opinion changes over time, which is touched on. But, the main takeaway is Emily sticks to her faith in hopes of citizenship in Heaven.

Of course, primary source coming from Emily Dickinson's writing (cut and spliced to fit each argument), and secondary sources include the Holy Bible (trust me, there are tons of scripture) plus a million random name drops of old English/American poets. The overall recurring theme is the idea of Finite Infinity. Over the course of the book, something new is described as infinitely finite - man, God, souls, Time, and even love. These are intangible nouns that recur in a different sense forever.

Do I have a problem with this book or argument? No. However, I do have a problem with the overall analysis. It feels bland and dry. Mary Power adds a typical Christian lens to Emily, which I guess feels to me, a bit boring. I think, if anything, this argument would be a lot stronger for the other half - that Emily was far from Christian. I mean... she dressed herself in all white every day, because she believed she was the bride of God to remain pure. Anyways, it was ok. Wouldn't use it for an essay though.