Abstract
"Zora Neale Hurston: An Emotional Biography" is an edition of letters written by Zora Neal Hurston in the final years of her life. Each letter is preceded by an introduction that familiarizes the reader with the social, historical, and emotional context of the letter. This study will attempt to work out an emotional biography of Hurston by studying the symbolic language of her letters, and then situating this language in the context of her socio-historical history. By focusing on the emotional and personal history revealed in these letters and documents scholars are able to consider Hurston as both a literary figure and an individual, emotional woman and apply this knowledge to her biography, her work, and her socio-historical circumstance.