Adrienne Rich Living In Sin Summary

Anyone who has fallen madly in love, can identify with the woman in “Living in Sin,” by Adrienne Rich. The euphoric high of new love brings a “love conquers all” mentality that it will last forever. In “Living in Sin,” the reader is introduced into the scene of a couple who has defied society to cohabitate. Rich uses allegory to explore how the fantastical view of love and cohabitation, fades, as the tedious reality of life slowly begins to intrude. “Living in Sin,” was written in the 1954. If one considers the time period, they would soon realize that marriage and family was the hub of the decade. Women were encouraged to get married and start families at an early age, and living out of wedlock was christened, “living in sin.” To live …show more content…
Given the time period and the mocking tone of the speaker, it is not too much of a stretch to suggest that “half heresy, to wish the taps less vocal, the panes relieved of grime” is a metaphor that society is verbally critical of the couple’s living out of wedlock and not above a bit of mudslinging. “Heresy” is the denotation for being at variance with the accepted moral belief of the day, namely cohabitation. “Taps,” is the denotation for music played at a military funeral. The grime on the window panes could be a metaphor for mudslinging. An indicator that the women is not guilt free in her decision to cohabitate, in defiance of society, is the metaphor: “beetle-eyes would fix her own---envoy from some village in the moldings.” This woman believes society is watching and judging her. Furthermore, she is at tug-of-war with her own morals or beliefs. This is indicated by the speaker’s description of the woman making the bed, “pulled back the sheets and made the bed.” It’s a paradox, seeing that one usually pulls “up” the sheets when making the bed, rather than pulling them …show more content…
Furthermore, daylight or morning light is a metaphor for the woman’s realistic perception of her relationship. Usually, daylight and dawn is associated with hope and enlightenment, but not to this woman. Her conscious awareness of the reality of her relationship, is not positive. The speaker uses “writhe” to describe the milkman (aka, daylight) on the stairs. Writhe is the denotation for squirm in discomfort--not a good thing. Also, in describing the romantic interlude of the night before, with the bottles of wine and cheese, the speaker laments, “that morning light so coldly would delineate the scraps.” In other words, this woman’s dawning reality of the condition of her relationship brings not hope or comfort. Only an uncomfortable look at her cold, harsh, unfulfilled expectations, of the stark condition of her relationship. Additionally, the simile “she woke sometimes to feel the daylight coming like a relentless milkman up the stairs,” shows that it’s becoming more and more difficult to pretend or hide from the reality of her decaying