The Farmer's Bride

Front 1

1x a) Charlotte mew. 1869-29. published in 1916 women authors were doing well to get published-sexism. lived through ww1-horror of war. lived through suffrage. middle class. father died before 1900 leaving family poor before weal fare state.

Back 1

1x b) need writing to help family. 2 of siblings were 'insane'. Charlotte and sister decided not to marry-didn't want to pass on illness or lesbian. dressed mask dandy smash the gender norms innit chazza. brave in face of sexism. homo illegal.

Front 2

1x c) women close to woman not is controversial as and with man. homo was viewed as mental illness. writing on women's rights.

Back 2

2x) 1 interp) poem metaphor for women's rights-man and village oppress the girl. woman is a possession. unintelligent farmer. only allowed freedom from husband. the 'bride' she was married but hasn't consummated it-image of innocence. farm microcosm of society

Front 3

2x) 2nd interp) microcosm on mental illness-the woman is locked away. society makes assumptions of norm-she isn't normal for not wanting sex. her sister's were ill. farm asylum? farmer nurse?

Back 3

2x) 3rd interp) metaphor for industrialisation- farmer. women's greater connection to nature than men. lang of animals describes woman-sym. the man is farmer-takes from land. he exploits nature-she is a symbol of nature. bride-naturalist-place is nature?

Front 4

3x) chazza writes from view of the farmer-not her view point. using it to critique men/patriarchy/ableism/industrialism.

Back 4

4x) structure-balances in structure reflects patriarchy/other interps. messy structure no pattern. she has not name. she has no voice-like eva smith-she isn't really an individual.

Front 5

nature (n) 1) 'three summers'- warmth and happiness and childhood positive. happy for her but line 6-winter's day sim of winter's days short and her happiness is over. winter-neg cold in relationship-leaves from leaves- sadness.

Back 5

n2) runs away in autumn- leaves and plants die and fall-she had decided their relationship is decaying. 'but more's to do at harvest' he must do a lot to survive so he doesn't court her. marries her as commodity-doesn't care-'i chose a maid' patriarchy.

Front 6

n3) wants her for kid's and to help work- free worker. 2nd verse- too young to marry and goes among sheep-bib ref people are sheep jesus Shepard-sheep innocent and non conformist-doesn't want to be ordered around. sheep conform she leads

Back 6

n4) 2nd stan 1) should have been in bed- for kid's with husband. she isn't working-just spiritually with them instead f being a wife. chase her like a witch hunt- 'we' is society/men/villagers. 'they said' group that reports to him-society sees she's different.

Front 7

n5) 2nd stan 2) they think it's fine to chase and lock her up. he plays up to their expectations to chase her. man must do something. 'lanterns' at night. she runs to churchtown- church didn't help or she couldn't get there.

Back 7

Insanity (1) 2nd stanza 3)turned the key upon her- like an institution. like a prison break. by society. (n) sym are all of animals- frightened animals close to nature (f). woman used instinct like animals-doesn't want society's rules like chazza in dandy and nor marrying.

Front 8

n6) 2nd stan 4) humans aren't as smart as they think. wide brown stare.

Back 8

3rd stanza 1) (n) like a mouse quiet and scared-good worker but not in love. talks to animals tho. doesn't want men to hear or hurt her (n) (f) before poem woman was hurt by man. eyes speak- she didn't speak he puts words into her mouth

Front 9

3rd stanza 2) 'we' group of men? attacked by men in past- that's why she was married off young. the women gossip about her-society uses women on women hate but this may be bc she's insane. suffrage had to change women's views too. women must change for feminism. waaaaaay.

Back 9

3rd stanza 3) women saying it's weird she babies children but not having any-woman's place. animals are 'beasts' just commodities but she loves them. she hasn't spoken to him. not mad just doing what she wants (i). silence in poem women are silent in society.

Front 10

4th stanza 1) hire she is young and fast but young. 'sweet' beautiful. good to self but 'wild' unspoilt to self but what for him? doesn't look good for him just for herself. possessive. analysed on physical language not her character-ehh men. abrupt rhetorical.

Back 10

4th stanza 2) (colour) blue smoke grey sky browns-depression and dull lacks colour and exciting they don't talk. burning is dark image. thing's decay again foreshadowing of rape. contrast of black with white of snow. magpie i dead 'feather's lie'.

Front 11

4th stanza 4rd) red of berries for christmas is passion but he wants kids joy of christmas is kids. want's to have kids-not a bad thing. red contrasts this tho. exclamation mark this is emotional climax and he is fed up of her not doing anything for him.

Back 11

5th stanza 1) brown stare and hair is foreshadow of rape. he is fixation on her hair and eyes, he was in an earlier stanza stopped by her scared eyes but he isn't any more-looses it. maid is virgin there is a stair between them- frustration. won't stop.

Front 12

5th stanza) her down may be down the stairs and brown of bruises if he has beaten her. or he may have left her and she doesn't come down stairs and rots to death-dying like leaves in brown autumn. the woman is the upper in the room-upper in society. she has remained true to self.

Back 12

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