Analysis Of The Young Housewife

1389 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women in literature

The Young Housewife by William Carlos William is a short poem that portraits the sexism towards women. The poem gives the reader a lot of details how married women in society are viewed. It also shows the reader what women are expected to do once married. The Young Housewife poem has hidden views about women that are particularly sexist. Through the eyes of William Carlos William it portraits what society thinks of women. Their thoughts and/or his thoughts are not necessarily something a woman would want society to regard them as. The beginning of the poem starts with the young housewife walking around the house. The poem gives an specific time "At ten AM the young housewife moves about in negligee behind the wooden walls" (pg. 619). The fact that the author gave an specific time, it shows how controlled the housewife 's life is. It gives the impression to the reader that married women must do everything at a exact time. Then the poem goes on "of her husband 's …show more content…

"A woman 's light dressing gown, often made from a sheer fabric",(pg.619). By giving her that description she is being objectified. She is seen not wearing too much clothing, usually women that show too much skin are given a bad connotation. They are not respectable in society, and are often talked wrongly about. The title of the poem itself has a hidden message. "The Young Housewife", means that the woman could have been married as young as the age of eighteen. Since she stays at home being the "housewife", she is depends on her husband to take care of her needs. The poem gives no hope of her being independent so she will forever depend on someone to support her. From this interpretation the poem is saying that women are to marry young, and stay at home. Not given the opportunity to pursue a career, and obtain a decent job to support herself

Show More
Related

  • The Toughing Housewife Case Study

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    What risk factors and symptoms did Jessica present with prior to the physical examination that suggested a pulmonary disorder?

    Read More

  • The Lady in the Pink Mustang

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    The readers are apt to feel confused in the contrasting ways the woman in this poem has been depicted. The lady described in the poem leads to contrasting lives during the day and night. She is a normal girl in her Cadillac in the day while in her pink Mustang she is a prostitute driving on highways in the night. In the poem the imagery of body recurs frequently as “moving in the dust” and “every time she is touched”. The reference to woman’s body could possibly be the metaphor for the derogatory ways women’s labor, especially the physical labor is represented. The contrast between day and night possibly highlights the two contrasting ways the women are represented in society.

    Read More

  • Shirley Chiisholm's Patriarchy: Race, Revolution And Women

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    This source provided the unique perspective of what was thought to be the perfect household, with a man who worked and a wife who cooked and cleaned. However, it also showed how a woman could also do what a man can do, and in some cases they could do it even better. This work is appropriate to use in this essay because it shows how men talked down to their wives as if they were children. This work shows the gradual progression of woman equality and how a woman is able to make her own decisions without her husband’s input.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Women of House on Mango Street and Bread Givers

    1701 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Women of House on Mango Street and Bread Givers Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago and grew up in Illinois. She was the only girl in a family of seven. Cisneros is noted for her collection of poems and books that concentrate on the Chicano experience in the United States. In her writings, Cisneros explores and transcends borders of location, ethnicity, gender and language. Cisneros writes in lyrical yet deceptively simple language.

    Read More

  • The Handmaid's Tale Women

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    The women are divided into functions and are identified by the colour of their dress. In chapter 5, Offred is walking down the streets of Gilead, reminiscing about the days she used to walk down the street wearing what she wanted to wear before she got taken away, and also thought about simple things such as how she was able to freely walk to the laundromat to wash her own clothes with her own soap. She informs the reader of her analysis of the different types of women in the Republic of Gilead: “There are other women with baskets, some in red, some in the dull green of the Martha's, some in the striped dresses, red and blue and green and cheap and skimp, that mark the women of the poorer men. Econowives, they're called. These women are not divided into functions. They have to do everything; if they can.” (Atwood, 5.5) The Handmaid’s— the bearer of children— wear red, the Martha’s, who are the housekeepers wear green, and the wives wear blue. Econ Wives are the only women who aren’t defined by the colour of their dress because they must do every function. Atwood is showing that the individuality and identities of these women have been completely taken away and are labelled by the clothing they are forced to

    Read More

  • Intersectionality Theory In Gwendolyn Brook's In The Waiting Room

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    She questions “why should I be my aunt / or me, or anyone?” (75-76), perhaps highlighting the notion that women were not as likely to be seen as an induvial at this time in history. Additionally, she questions, almost rhetorically so, if “those awful hanging breasts -- / held us all together / or made us all just one?” (81-83). This conveys the questions of what it means to be a woman: are we simply similar because of “awful hanging breasts” as the speaker of the poem questions, or are we held together by something else, and what is society’s perception on this? It is also interesting to note Bishop’s use of parenthesis around the line “I could read” (15). It may function as an aside for the reader to realize that the six year old girl can in fact read, but also might function as a wink to the misconstrued notion throughout history that women were less educated and didn’t

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette's 'The Hand'

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    The submission of women is demonstrated in the text through the symbolic colors of the couple’s bedroom. Indeed, as the young woman’s husband is asleep, the wife remains wide-awake, trying her best to provide the man with comfort, while enjoying her newlywed life. As she opens her eyes to contemplate “the blue of the brand-new curtains, instead of the apricot-pink through which the first light of day [filters] into the room where she [has]

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper and A Doll’s House

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    In society, there has always been a gap between men and women. Women are generally expected to be homebodies, and seen as inferior to their husbands. The man is always correct, as he is more educated, and a woman must respect the man as they provide for the woman’s life. During the Victorian Era, women were very accommodating to fit the “house wife” stereotype. Women were to be a representation of love, purity and family; abandoning this stereotype would be seen as churlish living and a depredation of family status. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Henry Isben’s play A Doll's House depict women in the Victorian Era who were very much menial to their husbands. Nora Helmer, the protagonist in A Doll’s House and the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” both prove that living in complete inferiority to others is unhealthy as one must live for them self. However, attempts to obtain such desired freedom during the Victorian Era only end in complications.

    Read More

  • Sojourner Truth Speech

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    He mentions how far women have come since his grandmother's day, but realizes the country as a whole has more room to grow. He mentions how tough it can be for women to juggle a demanding career while raising a family. Both text reference what honor motherhood is but they also admit the demanding workforce can determine how successful a mother they can be. Women today may not face slavery, but they face double standards that limit them to be successful professionals and parents.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In The Yellow Wallpaper

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Story begins with a description of the house. The house in itself is a symbol of isolation women faced in the nineteenth-century. The protagonist describes the house as isolated and miles away from the village, but also described as “the most beautiful place” (Gilman 217). During the nineteenth-century, women were in a sense isolated from society, just like the house. The role of the women was to stay home and tend to the

    Read More

  • Yellow Wallpaper: Beyond The Wall

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...women’s roles in society and in the household are. It is quite interesting on how many biased readers and writers we have in this world. There are so many people so quick to label women and men based on very simplistic roles in society. Men believe women have something to prove or justify, but only in the household. Overall, I really enjoyed interpreting this short story and literary reviews by Ann Oakley and Karen Ford.

    Read More

  • Exploring Misogyny: Societal Rules and Female Freedom

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    She tells the girl to “walk like a lady” (320), “hem a dress when you see the hem coming down”, and “behave in front of boys you don’t know very well” (321), so as not to “become the slut you are so bent on becoming” (320). The repetition of the word “slut” and the multitude of rules that must be obeyed so as not to be perceived as such, indicates that the suppression of sexual desire is a particularly important aspect of being a proper woman in a patriarchal society. The young girl in this poem must deny her sexual desires, a quality intrinsic to human nature, or she will be reprimanded for being a loose woman. These restrictions do not allow her to experience the freedom that her male counterparts

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The House On Mango Street

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    Society set a standard many years ago that in a relationship, the woman depends on the man. In The House on Mango Street, woman tend to trust and not have power in relationships. Sandra Cisneros develops the theme that women are inferior to men. This is based on men’s view on power and women accepting their role through the motif of gender roles throughout the novella The House on Mango Street.

    Read More

  • Women’s Fight for Social Equality

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...en a woman conforms to a society’s standards she is not as beautiful as someone who is unrestricted of these limitations. Consequently, comparing her to a “goldenrod ready to bloom” (19) draws implications of flowers blooming in springtime, which are lovely. This allows the reader to see natural life growing from the woman and beginning to break free of the shell society creates. She shows resistance to the ideas of how women should act be look like. The poem ends with potential: the women can change how she is viewed in the world but she has to take the first step.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Mr Leggs Ad

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    The man is wearing a suit - the man of the house, the breadwinner. The woman, being the homemaker, is subservient to him and, in this case, takes it to a whole new level. She is literally at his feet, completely under his control and order. What is interesting about this, however, is the fact she is still glamoured up and externally attractive even in the form of a rug. This gives the idea that women should be submissive to her husband and even in times of complete overpowering to her, she should always have the look of a perfect housewife, all dolled up and perfect to the public

    Read More

More about Analysis Of The Young Housewife

Open Document