Dickinson

The records of Emily Dickinson's life,

up to and including Sue and Austin's marriage,

are full and factual compared with what lies ahead.

Over the next few years, just a handful of letters survive.

The truth, perhaps, is hidden in her poems.

Mrs. Dickinson.

Look straight ahead. Relax.

Okay. Doctor, what do you think?

-It doesn't look good. -I'm not going blind, am I?

-No, no. Not blind, no. -Oh, thank God. That's a relief. Good.

Do you still have the blurriness? The odd flashes of light?

Yes. Like sometimes when I'm writing, the edges of the page just disappear.

-Do you write often? -All the time.

Well, you might wanna stop doing so much of that.

Stop writing?

Could all that writing be hurting her eyes?

Anything's possible.

Oh, my God. Emily, dear, you don't want to cause any increasing harm to your vision.

Well, again, you're not going blind.

-See? -It appears she is suffering from iritis.

It's an inflammation of the iris.

Along with a touch of myopia.

All right. So what's the treatment?

Sit in dim rooms if you can.

Avoid the sun. And remember, you can't necessarily trust what you see.

-Avoid the sun? -Yes.

That's it?

Goddamn it, man.

This was a lot of money to pay for a bit of impossible advice.

"Avoid the sun"? She's not a bat, you know.

Dad, it's okay. I don't need the sun. I still have the moon.

Emily, hush. Can't you see I'm in the middle of shouting at this man?

If you like, you could stay a couple more days.

-I could conduct further observation. -I wanna go home.

Let me just present you with the bill.

You're a crook.

I'm actually America's very first ophthalmologist.

This is outrageous!

You'll have to come back in about six months

to see if there's been any improvement.

-So you think it might get better? -Oh, no.

It will only get worse.

Before I got my eye put out - I liked as well to see

as other creatures that have eyes - and know no other way -

But were it told to me, Today,

That I might have the Sky

For mine I tell you that my Heart Would split for size of me -

This is highway robbery, this man. Unbelievable.

Do you have to keep muttering?

I'm just trying to figure out how three days at the doctor's office

cost us the equivalent of a trip to Europe.

Sorry for being so expensive.

Oh, no, it's not you. No, honey, I spend barely anything on you.

It's your brother, unfortunately.

I spent far too much on that house of his.

Had to have the finest of everything.

And then the market crashed, and the railroad went bankrupt...

Do you mind if I go back to thinking now?

No.

You really are a poet. You write all the time these days.

Well, what do you do with all these poems? You never show them to me.

Well, I could-- I couldn't show them to you.

Why not?

You wouldn't understand them.

Well, you're probably right.

I just hope that you do find someone who can understand.

Oh, don't worry. I have someone. I do.

Long ride from New York.

-Thanks for coming. -Of course. Let me get this for you.

Yes. Careful. Careful.

You would not believe how much I spent on this.

I'm sure I wouldn't.

Oh, God, I hope she likes it.

There we go.

Thanks again, Henry.

-Mr. Dickinson, before you go-- -Actually, just call me Austin.

Honestly, it feels less awkward.

-Austin then. -Yeah.

-I was just wondering... -Yes?

...whether the barn might be free tonight?

Oh. Yes, absolutely.

Free as a bird.

So, it's all right if I...

You do your thing in there, Henry.

And if anyone asks you any questions, you send them right to me.

-You're a kind man, Mr. Dickinson. -Austin.

Okay.

Your father is being so terribly frugal these days.

He frets about every little expense now.

You know, he's even asked us to take in a boarder.

-Excuse me? -I was shocked too.

I said, "What kind of respectable people will we be

if we have a stranger living with us?"

Luckily, I managed to find someone we already know.

Do you remember that nice young man who dropped out of Austin's college class?

Mr. Shipley.

-Wait, Mom, the one that I used to-- -Oh, and he's already arrived.

Hello, boarder.

How are you?

What is even happening right now?

Hello.

Was I talking to myself?

I think I know you from somewhere. What is your name?

I'm nobody!

Who are you?

I'm Emily Dickinson of Amherst.

Really, I must have met you before. You look so familiar. I--

Thank you.

I...

Hey, who are you?

The train doesn't even have a dining car. No wonder the railroad went bust.

Who were you talking to?

Nobody.

Cool dolls.

What are you doing in my house?

The last I heard, you were back in Kentucky making bootleg whiskey.

I was actually selling pharmaceuticals.

It's just one of my many successful business ventures.

Okay. If it was so successful, then what are you doing back in Amherst,

paying rent for a room in my parents' house?

I'm glad you asked.

I came here for you.

-I'm surprised you even remember me. -Of course I remember you.

You're the most pure, simple, quiet, traditional girl I ever knew.

And that is why...

I wanna make you my wife.

Ship.

Ship, we hooked up once,

and then you hooked up with someone else the same night.

That wasn't very chivalrous of me.

You'll see I've changed, Lavinia.

I'm not that college dropout who got drunk and tobogganed into a lake.

I'm a serious adult man with entrepreneurial instincts

and a profound respect for women who embody traditional values,

such as submissiveness, chastity,

and a willingness to do household chores.

I'm not even like that.

You're Lavinia Dickinson.

You have tea parties for your cats.

Okay. Well, yes, but I've changed too.

And how have you changed?

I'll show you.

Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?

Don't you think we should wait? Until marriage?

Henry "Ship" Shipley...

I don't think you have any idea who you're dealing with.

Feels good to be home.

-We're home! -Hello?

They're back from their journey.

What did the doctor say?

You have no idea how hard this has been for me.

Mother, I'm the one with the eye problem.

Well, I'm the one with a daughter who may be going blind.

I'm not going blind.

God, why is this happening to me?

Again, not happening to you.

A blind child to take care of.

Strange boarders living under our roof.

-The wallpaper is cracking. -We just got this wallpaper.

-Well, it's already out of style. -I'm not going blind.

-Don't worry. -I'm so happy to hear that.

-I missed you. -I missed you too, Vin.

I have so much gossip for you.

I'm sorry. I don't have time. I have to get back to work.

Wait, why are you rushing?

You've been away for three days. Don't you want to say hello?

No. I want to write.

My mind is bursting with ideas.

No, the doctor said you shouldn't be writing. It's bad for your eyes, Emily.

Then stab my eyes out and be done with it.

I don't need my eyes to see. I don't.

All I need is my soul.

That's what I see the truth with.

And the truth can be seen by a blind man, so let me be blind.

As long as I have my poetry, I'm not afraid of the dark.

See? Everything's going to be all right.

Em, wait up.

-Hi. -Hi.

Sue wants to know, are you coming to the party tonight?

No. But, Austin, please tell Sue that she has to come over and see me.

She's at our house, getting ready.

-But I need to talk to her. -Yes, and she wants to talk to you too.

That's why she specifically asked me to ask you to come to the party tonight.

Okay, well, tell Sue that I can't come to the party tonight.

Tell her that you told me that she told you to tell me to come over,

but I'm telling you that she should come, but that I told you--

I'm tired of playing messenger between you two.

Just come to the party. We live right next door.

You know, sometimes that lawn feels like it's 100 miles long.

Was I even invited to the party?

Mom, we all have to go to the party.

Sue's salons are the talk of New England.

I memorized the write-up of the last one.

"Mrs. Austin Dickinson of Amherst dazzled at her latest well-attended soiree.

The parlor of her splendid villa, the Evergreens,

was packed with a veritable who's who list of New England society.

Italian wine was served, and it was hard to say which flowed more pleasantly,

the liquor or the conversation."

It is so crazy.

Sue is an influencer.