Dickinson is known to be an enigma, in the literary and, as she grew older, the physical world. She was born on December 10, 1830 into a prominent family in the relatively small town of Amherst, Massachusetts. Dickinson’s parents, Edward and Emily Norcross Dickinson, and older brother …show more content…
She went so far once as to say "I am growing handsome very fast indeed! I expect I shall be the belle of Amherst when I reach my 17th year. I don't doubt that I will have crowds of admirers at that age" (Childhood and Youth). She also delighted “in numerous female friendships, including those with Abiah Root, Abby Wood, Emily Fowler, and Susan Gilbert, who later became her sister-in-law” and numerous male friends throughout her life (Childhood and Youth). It was only in her thirties that she became increasingly reclusive until it reached the point that she no longer left her home (an Oerview). The most widely accepted theory as to why this occurred is that she developed “some form of agoraphobia,” otherwise known as the fear of open spaces, “or [another] anxiety disorder” (Mondragon). However, it is suspected that much of her writing was done during her time of