Letters as Portraits of Intimacy in Literature Studies

Abstract

Letters are not merely literature pieces for curiosity and daily amenities, but means of extensive use in the past when there were not many options for distance communication. Although privately written letters are public documents that offer valuable information to understand human relations not only in the past, in the present and future. Letters can be used in multiple fields of knowledge and disciplines, and offer extensive possibilities for interdisciplinarity. Bergson’s concept of knowing includes intuitive knowledge and temporal multiplicities. In this context, the past is made present when common aspects and empathy are evidenced. Therefore, much of the content of these letters are similar to issues that are common in today’s societies. The method of reading and using them interactively and empathically is called organic. Thus, past, present, and future are not in a linear sequence but juxtaposed. The three authors whose letters are presented and discussed to showcase the above are, Lord Byron to his editor, the letters from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to her former husband, the letters from Emily Dickson to her tutor. By using Bergson’s concepts of time and intuition—the dilemmas of relating to a publisher, to an ex-husband, and a tutor display how intimacy can play an important role in creating bonds across time and space in these masters of literature.