18 pages • 36 minutes read
Emily Dickinson"Faith" is a fine invention
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1891A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Multiple Meanings Behind “Gentlemen”
At first, the “Gentlemen” (Line 2) symbolize something relatively uncomplicated. They represent the rulers and governors of society. As proper, powerful men, their faith and minds are of the utmost concern since they have the most authority. Thus, the speaker addresses them. The “Gentlemen” symbolize leaders, and leaders should know when to rely on intuition and when to pivot toward something more concrete.
Then again, the “Gentlemen” also represent something somewhat ridiculous. The speaker turns the common noun into a proper noun. They make up a class for the men, which suggests the men’s power is made up—that is, it’s a construct of society. These men can’t see better than others. They’re not born with greater abilities—they merely exist in a time with sharply unbalanced gender norms; prejudices that make men seem superior to other genders. Here, the “Gentlemen” symbolize sexism and the inflated, unfounded power society often assigns to men.
In a contemporary context, the “Gentlemen” could symbolize people in general. All humans, whether they’re “Gentlemen” or not, struggle with when to make a choice based on faith and when to make a decision centered on another type of reasoning. Every person could use some advice about what to do “[i]n an Emergency” (Line 4), so, in a gender-inclusive reading, “Gentlemen” symbolize humanity because people of all genders face the tension between reason and intangible emotions and convictions.
The Multiple Meanings Behind “Microscopes”
“Microscopes” (Line 3) symbolize science and rationality. According to Science Museum, microscopes came about around 1600, and the first microscopes “could magnify an object up to 20 or 30 times its normal size” (“The Microscope,” 2019). Scientists use microscopes to see. The enhanced vision allows them to make informed decisions and draw empirical conclusions. Unlike faith, the microscope supplies tangible evidence. One scientist can show another scientist what’s under their microscope, so they symbolize verifiable results. The concrete aspect of microscopes is why it’s best to go with them during “an Emergency!” (Line 4). Microscopes symbolize reliability. Unlike faith, they don’t change or waver.
Another reading suggests microscopes symbolize keen vision. Separate from science and technology, a person with a microscope can see much more than a person relying on faith alone. In a figurative sense, a person with keen sight can put their faith under a symbolic microscope and examine it. Here, a microscope doesn’t symbolize science but a person who’s willing to thoroughly examine their beliefs and convictions, as this is the type of perceptive person that could come in handy during a precarious situation.
The Idea of Caution
The presence of the word “prudent” (Line 3) introduces the motif of caution and impacts the meaning of faith and microscopes. The speaker connects prudence to “Microscopes” (Line 3), so the microscopes are sensible instruments. They provide clear wisdom and judgment, and such lucidity is likely to come in handy during “an Emergency” (Line 4) when people often have to act quickly and don’t have much time to deliberate.
If microscopes are on the side of prudence, then, based on the juxtaposition, faith and prudence aren’t always aligned. The speaker says faith is “fine” (Line 1) for people “who see!” (Line 2), but this implies that many people don’t see—or those who have faith and say they can see might not have faith or the best kind of sight. The inability to verify faith—whether it’s faith in a religion, an emotion, or an intuition—makes faith a relatively tempestuous source. In an emergency, a person’s faith might help them, but it might not, so a prudent person should stick with the microscopes—whether the microscopes are figurative or literal.
Related Titles
By Emily Dickinson
