Poem-A-Day/April 10
(Johnson 199)
I'm "wife" — I've finished that —
That other state —
I'm Czar — I'm "Woman" now —
It's safer so —
How odd the Girl's life looks
Behind this soft Eclipse —
I think that Earth feels so
To folks in Heaven — now —
This being comfort — then
That other kind — was pain —
But why compare?
I'm "Wife"! Stop there!
**
I read this amazing poem almost as a dramatic monologue--i.e. a speech by an imputed "character" not revealed as such. Why? Because it speaks not of some spiritual occult equivalent of being a wife--some Emily Dickinson version of a marriage, the role self-conferred--but of the actual dismal state Dickinson saw women choosing over the "odd" life of a "Girl"--
The speaker of the poem keeps repeating the cultural scripts about "wife"-ness, but choking upon her words. "This being comfort--then" (according to logic) "That other kind--was pain--" Except we know from everything ED wrote that "girlhood" was NOT pain--it was a state of such admirable and envious freedom that she sometimes calls it her "boyhood" (given the patriarchy, the version of childhood with the most freedom built into the concept...)
I love how she finally has to stop--the logic is too absurd--by saying "Stop there!"
(Johnson 199)
I'm "wife" — I've finished that —
That other state —
I'm Czar — I'm "Woman" now —
It's safer so —
How odd the Girl's life looks
Behind this soft Eclipse —
I think that Earth feels so
To folks in Heaven — now —
This being comfort — then
That other kind — was pain —
But why compare?
I'm "Wife"! Stop there!
**
I read this amazing poem almost as a dramatic monologue--i.e. a speech by an imputed "character" not revealed as such. Why? Because it speaks not of some spiritual occult equivalent of being a wife--some Emily Dickinson version of a marriage, the role self-conferred--but of the actual dismal state Dickinson saw women choosing over the "odd" life of a "Girl"--
The speaker of the poem keeps repeating the cultural scripts about "wife"-ness, but choking upon her words. "This being comfort--then" (according to logic) "That other kind--was pain--" Except we know from everything ED wrote that "girlhood" was NOT pain--it was a state of such admirable and envious freedom that she sometimes calls it her "boyhood" (given the patriarchy, the version of childhood with the most freedom built into the concept...)
I love how she finally has to stop--the logic is too absurd--by saying "Stop there!"
I love Dickinson's use of 'Eclipse' here. The way she attributes it to the 'character' speaking gives it a rich double meaning. From the character's point of view, wifeliness is like looking at earth from heaven – looking down at the worldly, lesser place of girlhood from the divine throne of Wife. By calling the eclipse 'soft' the character suggests that the viewpoint is comforting, unassuming, easy. Nevertheless, the word 'eclipse' also suggests that from Dickinson's point of view wifeliness obscures, obfuscates the true delight and freedom in girlhood.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem, although there’s a dominant voice that agrees with the cultural scripts that see being a “wife” as being a true “woman”, a dissenting voice intrudes, questioning society’s meanings of these words. I love Dickinson’s use of quotation marks. The quotation marks on the word “wife” and “woman” indicate that these words are not entirely the speaker’s own voice. I initially read the ending of the poem as society ordering the speaker to be silent (“Stop there!”) and stop questioning..and the speaker reluctantly accepting society’s preference towards wifehood (“I’m "Wife"!"). However, the quotation marks on “wife” cast ambiguity onto the meaning of "wife" and suggest that the speaker hasn’t yet accepted the societal definition of the word.
ReplyDelete