Emily Dickinson's views on fame, as expressed in her poems "Fame is a fickle food" and "I'm nobody! Who are you?", suggest that she saw fame as something that could be temporal and potentially harmful. In "Fame is a fickle food," she describes fame as unreliable and capricious, likening it to food that might not nourish or sustain a person. This implies that she perceived fame as something that could lead to disillusionment rather than fulfillment.
Additionally, in "I'm nobody! Who are you?", Dickinson expresses a sense of contentment with being an "nobody," which conveys her skepticism about societal recognition and the desire for fame. She highlights the idea that being famous comes with its own set of drawbacks and that anonymity can be preferable.
Overall, Dickinson reflects a nuanced understanding of fame, seeing it as potentially dangerous and fleeting, rather than something to be aspired to or relied upon for validation as a writer. Therefore, the most appropriate interpretation of her view would be that "Dickinson felt fame could be temporal and harmful."
1 answer