A Waitress At Duval's Restaurant, By Billy Collins

While reading through the texts in the Confronting Class section, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s painting, A Waitress at Duval’s Restaurant, 1875 and Billy Collins’ poem, “The Waitress” grabbed my attention because I wanted to understand between the connection between the poem and the woman’s facial expression. The overall theme of this text contributes to the idea of gender roles in society. Throughout history, women lived up to rigid standards, such as conforming to the role of a traditional housewife or demonstrating proper etiquette in public. The rigid expectations forced many women to spiral into acts of rebellion. Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s painting and Billy Collins’ poem allows readers to understand the perspective of a woman from the late 19th …show more content…
Renoir’s decision to highlight certain parts of his painting while shading others connects to the overall theme of a woman’s contrasting image. On the left side of the portrait, we see lighter shades of white on the wall. However, the right side of the portrait appears bleak and dull, with darker highlights. The paradox between light and dark colors on the wall reflect the multiple perspectives behind a woman’s personality. For instance, the lighter colors symbolizes her pleasant and polite persona as a waitress, whereas, the darker colors symbolizes her free-spirited, non conformist side. Additionally, her scarf and apron are also shaded with various shades of white. The white color on her apron and scarf signifies the public perception of a pure and polite woman, whereas her black dress symbolizes her true self. Her facial expression also appears dazed. Her dazed expression indicates that she is not interested nor satisfied with her occupation as a waitress. Moreover, she places her hand on her waist, which is a common expression of anger or a desire to control. Therefore, as a woman, she refuses to conform to society’s expectations of a