Dickinson’s “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants”: Subverting Social Expectations

     Mushrooms play a vital role in the ecosystem as decomposers; in their absence, the nutrient cycle and the food chain would fall apart. Despite their great importance, their negative reputation doesn’t follow suit. Similarly, Emily Dickinson often incorporates the fact that Nature can be deceiving by revealing contrasting features to note the duality of (human) Nature, typically paralleled to real-world social dynamics. In “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants,” Dickinson favorably depicts an undesirable element of nature to applaud measured subversion within a strict social construct.
     The speaker characterizes the mushroom to highlight its intentional resistance to the strict laws of Nature. The mushroom’s impermanence elicits conflicting responses from surrounding organisms. Nature renders the mushroom a pariah while the grass seems “pleased” (13) for a disruption in Nature's monotonous cycle. Dickinson often explores Nature in her poetry with careful observation through an objective lens. Yet, a deeper analysis suggests that she “sentimentalizes Nature and… uses natural imagery to merely metaphorize her skepticism” (Knickerbocker 185). Through a metaphorical lens, the mushroom represents an outcast actively defying social expectations, more than likely by renouncing the widely accepted religion of the time period. Hard "t," "p," and "c" sounds jarringly contrast the lulling sibilance as Dickinson notes “this surreptitious scion/ of summer’s circumspect” (15-16). The disruption of sibilance reflects the mushroom interrupting natural order. To further characterize the mushroom, Dickinson utilizes similes and metaphors to introduce varying portrayals of the mushroom; each representation adds a layer to the mushroom’s human-like characterization, conveying a complex personality. For instance, the speaker describes the mushroom as an “elf” (1),“vegetation’s juggler” (9), “germ of alibi” (10), a “bubble” (11), “surreptitious scion” (15), and an “apostate”(19). According to Norse mythology, elves are ambivalent in the sense that they have the capacity to either be mischievous or helpful. The comparison between the mushroom and the elf helps establish the mushroom’s role as a wildcard with unpredictable tendencies. Similarly, a bubble shares the same erratic behavior as it threatens to pop and disappear in an instant. While these traits could be considered exciting and vibrant, Dickinson critically observes the negative associations by identifying the mushroom as a “surreptitious scion” and an “apostate.” These varying descriptions all contribute to the portrayal of the mushroom as a defiant being, transcending the rules of Nature. Dickinson establishes the mushroom’s ability, despite its constant movement, to act “as if it tarried always” (5), belong in numerous settings, and have the capacity to manage many niches as opposed to being confined to a single role. Although the mushroom is mystified, the speaker avoids deifying the mushroom to make its lifestyle seem accessible to the reader by utilizing ballad meter. The alternating iambic trimeter and tetrameter and the unpredictable rhyme scheme mirror the mushroom’s volatility, but the poem still falls into a steady rhythm due to the consistent iambic meter of unstressed-stressed syllables. The mushroom finds itself bound to universal natural laws, but finds a way to subvert them without collapsing the ecosystem and neglecting its duties.
     Dickinson embeds biblical references to redirect the meaning of the poem and brings the prevalent issues of religion and faith to the forefront to establish a clear division between good and evil. The last line of the poem, “it is Him!” (20), emphasizes the connection between the mushroom and Judas Iscariot, an “apostate” (15). Judas betrays his religion similar to the mushroom’s defiance of Nature. Contributing to the negative biblical allusions associated with the mushroom, the speaker references a “tare”- a malicious weed in the Bible representative of evil teachings and those who spread them. By introducing religion, Dickinson appears to designate a clear division between right and wrong; Nature and religion suggest benevolence while the mushroom embodies evil and chaos. Upon closer inspection, the speaker ambiguously comments on morality, leaving the speaker’s perceptions of good and evil up to the reader’s interpretation.
     Dickinson blurs the lines of morality by contrasting the positive tone and mood to the negative associations tied to most descriptions of the mushroom. Literary critic Charles Anderson perceives the poem to carry a heavy tone due to its portrayal of the mushroom as the embodiment of evil, deserving of Nature’s disdain. Despite the seemingly negative portrayal, a contrasting analysis recognizes a light hearted mood created by “mock heroic phrasing” that “captures the eccentric, defiant character of the mushroom” (Pickard 62). By focusing on the mushroom’s admirable qualities, the tone shifts from disappointment to admiration. The personification of the “pleased” “grass” (13) best exemplifies the positive tone. This line brings about a shift that causes the poem to take on a different meaning. For example, instead of viewing the mushroom as inconsiderate of Nature’s schedule, the fact that the mushroom shows up “antedate” (11) could signify that it’s ahead of its time. Suddenly, the mushroom becomes an inspiration for change in the face of routine. Through a formalist approach, Cristanne Miller
suggests that the effect of Dickinson’s compressed language allows “the poet to express more than one thought at a time or disguise one thought behind another.” Therefore, both interpretations can coexist in one multi-layered holistic assessment of the poem. The negative portrayal could represent society’s view on abnormal behavior, while the positive could be the speaker’s favorable view towards standing out in society.
     The speaker’s insight into the grass’s emotions suggests a deep connection between the speaker and the grass. The speaker reveals admiration emanating from the grass towards the mushroom by stating that the “grass was pleased” (13). Compared to the mushroom, grass enjoys significantly less free will as it finds itself deeply rooted to one spot. The speaker projects emotions onto an inanimate object they identify with. Psychological projection falls under a Freudian defense mechanism that “disguises threatening impulses by attributing them to others" (Myers 483). Essentially, the speaker could be misidentifying internal emotions of confinement by perceiving them as emotions from an external source. Symbolically, the speaker subconsciously feels afraid of tarnishing their societal image by following their deep desires of being liberated from society's expectations and rules. Alternatively, the speaker could be the grass itself, dissociating to temporarily escape its specialized niche within the ecosystem, or metaphorically speaking, their restricted role within society. Psychology defines dissociation as “a split in the consciousness which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously” (Myers 195). These mental processes could reveal the speaker’s internal desires to challenge “summer’s circumspect” (16) and break free of the societal obligations imprisoning them.
     Dickinson characterizes the mushroom with both positive and negative attributes to create ambiguity while defining the mushroom’s moral role either as a symbol of evil and chaos or benevolence and freedom. Literary critic Clark Griffith generalizes Dickinson’s view on Nature described throughout several of her poems: Nature provides moments of “great ecstasy,” albeit “fleeting and transitory,” “tantaliz[ing] the observer, lull[ing] her into feelings of false security” only to be followed by “periods when Nature glares back with a chilling hostility.” The strong ties between “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” and religion lead to the assumption that Dickinson felt moments of comfort within her religion and believed in God, but never experienced a constant flow of fulfillment. Rather, she felt out of place within the strict doctrines that required such extensive devotion. The mushroom indulges itself in certain freedoms without tipping the balance of Nature and being an integral part of the ecosystem. Dickinson emphasizes the need for individuals to challenge the norm and inspire growth and progress, similar to a mushroom’s vital role as a decomposer. Dickinson reveals her willingness to venture outside of the established social rules and encourages the creation of independent identities regardless of societal expectations.

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