Gender Roles In Walt Whitman's A Woman Waits For Me?

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In a community, individuals come together under shared beliefs and live “in association with others,” (OED). With the understanding of each other’s abilities, certain individuals have ownership of responsibilities in order to advance the community. As seen in Walt Whitman’s poem “A Woman Waits for Me,” the community develops into one, which divides these responsibilities between genders. Therefore, the community expects certain actions and results of the separate genders; creating gender roles. In the poem, Whitman exemplifies a community who expects men to be active, powerful members of society who use women as a vehicle for their own success. The only power women are granted by the community is when they are the counterparts of men. By looking …show more content…
Whitman uses phrases to show the man transferring the consequences of his actions: “I distill upon you,” “I give now,” and “I plant so lovingly now.” The poem reads, “The drops I distill upon you shall grow.” By the man taking ownership of the “drops,” the man must first “distill” them before allowing the woman to “grow” them. When defining “distill” as an action to “extract the quintessence of; to concentrate, purify,” the man cleanses his property before bestowing it upon the woman (OED). In essence, the man makes the “drops” perfect enough to grow, not the woman. The woman plays a passive role in the growing process, while the man plays an active role in the growth. The poem then reads, “I count on the fruits of the gushing showers I give now.” The “gushing showers,” similarly to “rivers,” connotes another strong, flowing force. When defining “gives” as an action to “sacrifice, offer up,” the man guardedly expenses his power for the woman (OED). Later, the poem reads, “I plant so lovingly now.” Again, the man takes sole ownership in the action and allows the woman to take part. When defining “plant” as an action to “establish or set up (a person or thing) in a particular position or situation,” Whitman carefully crafts language to show the man setting up the action and allowing the woman to become a counterpart (OED). When the narrator allows the woman to take part in the action, Whitman alludes to the fact that the woman must feel appreciation for this difficult sacrifice on the man’s part. Instead of using language to connote equal accomplishment for both genders, Whitman uses phrases to exemplify men allowing women to act. Only when the man transfers his duties, a woman can take part of the

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