For centuries, women have been viewed as unequal to men, resulting in the further demotion of women and forcing them into abiding by stereotypical gender roles. In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the Miss Bennets are a variety of girls that portray the tone and theme of the poem, “Women” by May Swenson. In Swenson’s poem, the tone, theme, and literary devices utilized in the work convey the expectation of women in the 1970s in America as well as coincide with role of women in 1800s England.
May Swenson was born in the United States in 1913. She was a well known poet who was highly praised by other poets as well (poemhunter.com). Her poem “Women” was published in the 1970s, a decade in which women achieved certain rights previously denied. …show more content…
A pedestal is a base that holds an object above ground, usually trophies or something of value. Pedestals are meant to be immobile in order to be a sturdy base on which the main object can be set upon it. This depiction symbolizes women as the the base below men meant to gratify them. However, Swenson writes “moving to the motions of men”. This line articulates that when a man moves, the woman must move in the same direction, to dutifully support him, not to go on her own path. In addition to toy horses and pedestals being objects that are meant to carry and provide pleasure for other, they are inanimate objects like furniture to decorate a room. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth compares Pemberley, Darcy’s home, as if the home is a reflection of Darcy’s character. “The rooms were lofty and handsome, but their furniture suitable to the fortune of their proprietor; but Elizabeth saw, with admiration of his taste, that it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine…”(Austen, 204). When asked by her sister when she knew she loved Darcy, she replies, “I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.” (Austen, 312). This conveys the idea that by seeing Darcy’s living space she can picture herself fitting for it; similar to a coordinated furniture piece.
In May Swenson’s poem, “Women”, utilizes literary devices such as extended metaphor, repetition, fitting diction, and rhyme to portray women’s roles in society during the 1970s in America. The tone, theme, and literary devices utilized in the work convey the expectation of obedient women in the 1970s in America that coincide with role of women in 1800s England. Elizabeth Bennet and Mrs. Bennet of Pride and Prejudice could easily become engaged in a heated argument regarding the poem because of their different views on what a woman’s relationship with a man should
May Swenson was born in the United States in 1913. She was a well known poet who was highly praised by other poets as well (poemhunter.com). Her poem “Women” was published in the 1970s, a decade in which women achieved certain rights previously denied. …show more content…
A pedestal is a base that holds an object above ground, usually trophies or something of value. Pedestals are meant to be immobile in order to be a sturdy base on which the main object can be set upon it. This depiction symbolizes women as the the base below men meant to gratify them. However, Swenson writes “moving to the motions of men”. This line articulates that when a man moves, the woman must move in the same direction, to dutifully support him, not to go on her own path. In addition to toy horses and pedestals being objects that are meant to carry and provide pleasure for other, they are inanimate objects like furniture to decorate a room. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth compares Pemberley, Darcy’s home, as if the home is a reflection of Darcy’s character. “The rooms were lofty and handsome, but their furniture suitable to the fortune of their proprietor; but Elizabeth saw, with admiration of his taste, that it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine…”(Austen, 204). When asked by her sister when she knew she loved Darcy, she replies, “I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.” (Austen, 312). This conveys the idea that by seeing Darcy’s living space she can picture herself fitting for it; similar to a coordinated furniture piece.
In May Swenson’s poem, “Women”, utilizes literary devices such as extended metaphor, repetition, fitting diction, and rhyme to portray women’s roles in society during the 1970s in America. The tone, theme, and literary devices utilized in the work convey the expectation of obedient women in the 1970s in America that coincide with role of women in 1800s England. Elizabeth Bennet and Mrs. Bennet of Pride and Prejudice could easily become engaged in a heated argument regarding the poem because of their different views on what a woman’s relationship with a man should