NOTES

Emily Dickinson sent this letter to Susan in late 1860s.

Arabian Nights: "a collection of stories and romances written in Arabic, also called the Arabian Nights' Entertainment or The Thousand and One Nights. The framework (in which the king of Samarkind has killed all his wives until he marries Scheherazade, who saves her life by entertaining him with her stories) is of Persian origin, though the stories themselves also derive from Indian and other sources. They were translated in the early 18th century; a cleaned-up version with scholarly notes was published in the mid-19th century.

Emily seems to be admonishing Sue for a lack of sentimentality, contrasting the romantic tone of the Arabic story collection "Arabian Nights" with the relatively emotionless practicality implied by arthmetic.

Letter #335 in Johnson, Letters. Presented here as transcribed by Smith and Hart, Open Me Carefully. To see a image of the manuscript, follow this link to the Dickinson Electronic Archive (password protected).