Paradise is that old mansion

Paradise is that old mansion

Many owned before –

Occupied by each an instant

Then reversed the Door –

Bliss is frugal of her Leases

Adam taught her Thrift

Bankrupt once through his excesses –

F(1244)

Although Emily Dickinson was not a devout Christian, she was familiar with the teachings and parables of the Bible, and often alluded to them in her poetry. With this poem, she explores the concept of happiness with the metaphor of “Paradise” found in the Biblical theory of creation in the garden of Eden. Although paradise is typically associated with eternity, the opposite is suggested here with phrases like “each an instant,” and “Bliss is frugal.” In using language like this, Dickinson makes it difficult to view paradise in a positive light.

The poem creates an interesting paradox between the accessibility of paradise. At the start of the poem, it is suggested that many people have experienced paradise, but two lines later it is said that bliss is allocated sparingly. For both statements to be true, the assumption would have to be that bliss is given with limitations on quality over quantity – each gets their own meager share. Under this analysis, the reader is given an accurate representation of happiness. With the unpredictability of life, there can be no guarantee that people will be able to enjoy uninterrupted happiness; there will always be something waiting to bring it to an end, or “reverse the door.” When reading this poem, the phrase “All good things come to an end” comes to mind, and it seems that this was the goal – to remind the reader of the rarity of true happiness and to cherish the brief moments in which it is experienced.

An interesting detail to consider about this poem is its length; there are seven lines in total which is the Biblical number of completion. By ending the poem at this point, it is directly connected to its overall theme that there is an allotted time for each person to “own the mansion.” The fulfillment of that time combined with the completion of this poem work to suggest that there are no second chances. Learned from her first encounter with an “owner,” bliss realized that there exists no one worthy of unlimited access to her resources, and she adjusted herself accordingly. 

This poem says that many are afforded the opportunity to own a piece of paradise before it is swiftly snatched away from them. No longer are they welcome into the mansion – this is an allusion to Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It is then asserted that this frugality was learned from the actions of Adam who taught Bliss how to be careful with her resources. In the Bible, the first man and woman are ejected from paradise for their inabilities to adhere to their only restriction: Do not eat of the tree of life. However, once this resource was violated, they were restricted from all which they once had full access to. Because he could not control the temptation to be free of all limitations, Adam was “Bankrupt once through his excesses –” (7). In his greed, he cost himself and all to come after him a chance at true paradise.

In writing this, Dickinson seems to be struggling with her understanding of happiness. Having gone through many periods of sadness and wanting to explore the reaches of the human experience, she used this poem to explain the fleeting nature of happiness. A sensation so marvelous to experience, she was rightfully seeking to explain our inability to make it last for longer than an instant. To make the complex concrete, she turned to Biblical tales to discover the root cause of the issue.