Emily Dickinson was 43 years old when her father died. Dickinson was born in December 1830 and her father, Edward, died of a stroke in June 1874. Having already secluded herself from outside company inside the family home, Dickinson did not directly attend his small funeral held in the family home.

During the 1880s Dickinson also endured the loss of several close friends – Charles Wadsworth, Judge Otis P. Lord, and Helen Hunt Jackson – and several family members, including Gib and her mother.

By all accounts, the relationship between Edward and his daughter seemed respectful and cordial, especially in her later years. However, most of Dickinson's commentaries or memories of her father reveal quite the opposite, specifically the apprehension and strictness under which she often lived.