Why did conflict between the Dickinson and Todd families affect Emily Dickinson scholarship?

The conflict between the Dickinson and Todd families significantly hindered the preservation and scholarly presentation of Emily Dickinson’s work for decades. The tension originated from an extramarital affair between Mabel Loomis Todd and Austin Dickinson, the husband of the poet’s sister-in-law, Susan Gilbert Dickinson.1

This personal enmity, which persisted between their daughters, Martha Dickinson Bianchi and Millicent Todd Bingham, resulted in the fragmentation of the poet's manuscripts. The collection was split between two institutions: the Harvard University Houghton Library and the Amherst College Library.1

Because each descendant edited selections of the work while maintaining this acrimonious rivalry, the presentation of Dickinson’s poetry was compromised. Furthermore, the initial editorial process led by Todd and Thomas Wentworth Higginson involved "correcting" the poet's grammar, meter, and rhyme, which obscured her original intent. Consequently, the first truly scholarly, comprehensive editions of her work did not emerge until the 1950s, and the family feud continued to complicate scholarly interpretation well into the 21st century.21