[s3e2] It Feels A Shame To Be Alive - -

The second episode of Dickinson ’s third season, titled , explores the crushing weight of survivor’s guilt against the backdrop of the American Civil War. The episode centers on the departure of Frazar Stearns , a real-life Union soldier and friend to the Dickinson family, who leaves for the battlefield just as the family welcomes a new life. Core Narrative: Life and Death in Contrast

: The poem itself, written in 1863, reflects Dickinson’s own struggle with being safe in the North while thousands died on the battlefield. It questions whether those who "wait" are of "sufficient worth" to justify the sacrifice of soldiers, whom she describes as "unsustained Saviors". [S3E2] It feels a shame to be Alive -

: By telling Frazar she wrote the poem for "Nobody," Emily reinforces her artistic isolation and her focus on the eternal rather than the immediate fame her father suggests. The second episode of Dickinson ’s third season,