Introduction
Poetry, practically since the existence of literature
as a prolific avenue for individualistic perspectives,
has presented itself as one of the most relevant
literary branches for espousing personal impressions
regarding various socio-cultural, political and
psychological issues.
Gender based discrimination, racial profiling
and stereotyping, religious fervor and politically
induced inequality; all have reflected significant
topics for poets over the years. This, moreover,
is something that is emphasized when considering
it in light of gender based implications presented
within the two poems, ‘Things Cheaply Had’
and ‘The Farmer’s Wife’, respectively
by Talisma Nasrin and Anne Sexton.
Addressing Nasrin’s stance in ‘Things
Cheaply Had’
One of the first things that come to mind when
considering Nasrin’s poem in its entirety
is the seemingly ridiculous light disregard that
appears to be infused into the portrayal of women
collectively. This is something that is emphasized
when considering the introductory three lines
of the poem, which read:
‘In the market nothing can be had as cheap
as women.
If they get a small bottle of Alta for their feet
They spend three nights sleepless for sheer joy’
(Nasrin: Lines 1 - 3)
The ‘market place’ when considering
it in light of the entirety of the poem, comes
through as a symbolic reference to society. This,
moreover, is something that particularly tends
be illustrated when considering it in retrospect
to the concluding lines. Furthermore, the collective
comparison of women to ‘the mangy cur of
the house barks now and then’ (Nasrin: Line
13) can be interpreted as a reference to the incapability
of women to speak out against particular offenses
that are carried out against them.
This incapability to speak is reflected within
the poets assertion that there is ‘a lock,
a golden lock’ (Nasrin: Lines 15 –
16) ‘over the mouths of women cheaply had’
(Nasrin: Line 14). It is quite apparent, thus
speaking, that the gist of Nasrin’s poem
implies that women are perceived as little more
than things that can be coaxed into offering themselves
for the meager sum of materialistic values.
Comparing Nasrin’s stance to that of Sexton’s
in ‘The Farmer’s Wife’
Anne Sexton’s poem, ‘The Farmer’s
Wife’, is similar to Nasrin’s ‘Things
Cheaply Had’ in as much as the fact that
Sexton too, adopts a stance that espouses the
disadvantageousness of trials of feminine oppression.
Although this collective disregard for women is
implied within the title, as the poet declines
from naming the farmer’s wife, it is accentuated
more strongly when contemplating the lines that
read:
‘That she has been his habit;
As again tonight he'll say
Honey bunch let's go’ (Sexton: Lines 7 -
9)
It would be relevant to here contemplate the
manner in which the terms ‘habit’
and ‘honey bunch’ have been employed,
each in close communion to the other so as to
emphasize again the disregard which appears to
be infused into the portrayal of females. While
the use of the term ‘habit’ tends
to have an inevitably demeaning impact on the
entire concept of marriage, the added employment
of the term ‘honey bunch’ serves to
accentuated the irony underlying the situation.
The difference, however, between Nasrin and Sexton
lies in the fact that while the former takes no
steps towards using conceptually using the theme
of the institution of marriage, the latter uses
exclusively this theme. Doing this, Sexton manages
to the capture a deeper, more psychological or
spiritual aspect of the oppression of females,
one that leans towards collectively portraying
them as something like sexual pets; objects to
be used exclusively for the physical fulfillment
of lust. The following lines tend to be especially
significant in this context:
‘That old pantomime of love
That she wants although
It leaves her still alone’ (Sexton: Lines
16 - 18)
It is quite apparent, thus speaking, that Sexton’s
poem leans towards espousing the disadvantageousness
of a marriage within which the love is only one
sided, coming from the woman, while the male has
nothing more than physical fulfillment on his
mind. The fact that the ‘farmer’s
wife’ wishes her husband ‘lonely,
or sometimes, better, my lover, dead’ (Sexton:
Lines 31 - 32) serves as a testimony to the emotional
impact that the woman’s husband’s
detachment has upon her.
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