"Faith" is a fine invention

“Remembrance” by Emily Brontë (1846)

Critics often compare Dickinson with Victorian poet and writer Emily Brontë since both women isolated themselves from society and produced keen works. Brontë wrote the canonized stormy romance novel Wuthering Heights (1847) and many poems. One of her more famous poems is “Remembrance,” where the speaker has to balance their passion for a departed love with a reasonable life. As with “‘Faith’ is a fine invention,” Brontë’s poem relies on juxtaposition and addresses when to yield to feelings and how to embrace rationality.

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson (ca 1861)

Read alongside “‘Faith’ is a fine invention,” this poem furthers the argument that Dickinson is carefully lampooning the “Gentlemen” (Line 2) and their faith. In “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” Dickinson compares visible members of society, like gentlemen, to frogs and bogs. Her speaker calls overtly notable people “dreary” (Line 5) since what’s admirable isn’t public acclaim but a private identity. Just as “‘Faith’ is a fine invention” subverts ideas about gender, this poem overturns norms about fame. The speaker puts down people with widely known personas and lifts up the so-called “nobodies.” Dickinson’s appreciation of “nobodies” might be why the speaker in “‘Faith’ is a fine invention” remains mysterious and has the wisdom to tell the somebodies how to behave.