diff --git a/lib/yaml/emitter.py b/lib/yaml/emitter.py
index a664d011..f1427925 100644
--- a/lib/yaml/emitter.py
+++ b/lib/yaml/emitter.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def __init__(self, stream, canonical=None, indent=None, width=None,
 
         # The current indentation level and the stack of previous indents.
         self.indents = []
-        self.indent = None
+        self.indent = indent
 
         # Flow level.
         self.flow_level = 0