“The Man of Noon” and the Potential Anxiety of Writing as a Woman Writer in the 19th Century －Centering on Emily Dickinson's Master Poems－

Myungok Yoon

“The man of noon” who often appeared in Emily Dickinson's poems andletters has raised questions about his identity. Such a debate has beenintensified because she didn't portray or mention about him in concrete ways. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to figure out this mysterious being,centering on Dickinson's master poems where he appears. First of all, “theman of noon” can be figured out as her lover. Based on the typicalrelationships of a man and a woman in the 19th century – as shown clearlyin the metaphors of the sun, daisies, and sun-flowers in her works – he isa man/lover whom a woman poet depends on with fervently romanticfantasy. He is also a savior who rescues her physically and mentally, and herlife, too. He is god-like with light and power, reminding us of Apollo, thegod of light and the primordial man of noon. However, with irresistibleattractiveness and luminosity, he has the destructive power of a masculinefigure and danger. Furthermore, although he is a lover-like being, on thebasis of the male-centered, patriarchal society in the 19th century, he is alsoa patriarchal figure who plays a master role at home and in society duringthe period, or God the father as a religious presence who suppresses the whole society of the age with patriarchal authority. In that point, he is afigure whom Dickinson resists and breaks with. “The man of noon” is atwo-faced figure who makes the poet have ambivalent and oxymoronicemotions and attitudes. By the way, this being who is to Dickens anattractive master as a lover/husband/father/God and a suppressor of a womanis a muse incorporating the consensus of Love and Poetry; to Dickinson thewriter; he is also a stranger who absorbs a writer's self at the same time. Furthermore, on the basis of the relationships between a male writer and afemale writer in the 19th century, he is, ultimately, Dickinson's another self,resulting from a woman writer's anxious writing. In conclusion, “the man ofnoon” can be the others around her and another self or the double images ofthe subconscious desire inside her. He is another substitute or projectile ofher self which she gives birth to in her works. He is the most intensive andactive persona which expresses the potential anxiety of writing Dickinson hasas a woman writer of her age.

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