The poem that begins, “There is no Frigate like a Book to take us Lands away,” is an important one to understand both Emily Dickinson as well as the reading we have done so far in class. The notion that any person, of any background or means, can be transported by reading a book, is one which seems universal, but is not. Dickinson was an isolated person who spent much of her life writing, and did so in private. Her own poetry was an exploration into an internal and natural world where she took a more passive role. It is clear though from this poem that she believed that the human soul could be accessed by anyone who could read a book.
As we have ventured through stories of the picaresque, we see this is not always the case – either from the perspective of the author, or the characters in the story. In the very beginning of the course, we looked the Anansi stories. Many of these were not written, as they were told between people in transition or who may have been unable to read – they had the function that Dickinson speaks to in her poem, but they were a tool of people who were oppressed by a power structure. She also touches on the accessibility in relating “without oppress of toll- how frugal is the chariot…,” meaning that it is free for anyone who can hear or read to take the passage into discovery of the soul, which is subversive in this same way.
Looking at The life of Lazarillo de Tormes, the unknown author had a clear perspective; the book was a vehicle to undermine the power structure of the establishments, but also to show the value and universality of the protagonist, Lazarillo. On the other hand, in the introductory section of the The Swindler, the author has a tone which is clear in seeking to exclude certain people from validity in society.
On a larger scale, we all have read the same assignments and have had varying perspectives on their meanings. We all have been transported to another time and place through literature, which is the point of Dickinson’s poem.