Languishly Waiting for a Loved One: A Perspective on the Denial of Subjectivity, Instrumentality, and Inertness in The Wife’s Lament
“Woe unto him who languishing waits for a loved one.” This gonic wisdom attached to the end of “The Wife’s Lament,” an anglo-saxon poem, resonates with the suffrage one woman must face alone after being discarded from an early form of a patriarchal society. While much of the context behind the poem remains a mystery, four things are certain. The speaker is a woman who was married to a nobleman of another tribe. Her husband left her and possibly forced into an exile. His kinsman, or family, are hostile towards her. She is forced to live in the wilderness alone. What can be interpreted is that the speaker gains …show more content…
She is able to describe her particular situation of isolation and emotional/cultural deprivation with terms that highlight her individuality. Whenever she describes her husband, she uses terms like “my lord,” or “my liege-lord” (6-7). The Wife speaks with these terms to allude to her position as retainer to her husband and lord. The terms may adhere to subordination, but they also adhere to Anglo-Saxon masculinity and the language of the common warrior and overlord relationships within men at the time. In her feminine lament of pain, she boldly speaks in the language from which she is traditionally excluded. She is the warrior in this scenario, forced to live out on her alone and thrive by her own means. Although she is kicked out of the tribe and left for dead, she is no longer anybody’s tool. She fends for herself. Towards the end of the poem, there is a moment when she even describes her husband as her “weary friend” (49). She settles for considering him her equal. Although they are not together, they both endure the harsh solitude of exile. This exemplifies her profound wisdom that goes unnoticed by those who underestimate
“Woe unto him who languishing waits for a loved one.” This gonic wisdom attached to the end of “The Wife’s Lament,” an anglo-saxon poem, resonates with the suffrage one woman must face alone after being discarded from an early form of a patriarchal society. While much of the context behind the poem remains a mystery, four things are certain. The speaker is a woman who was married to a nobleman of another tribe. Her husband left her and possibly forced into an exile. His kinsman, or family, are hostile towards her. She is forced to live in the wilderness alone. What can be interpreted is that the speaker gains …show more content…
She is able to describe her particular situation of isolation and emotional/cultural deprivation with terms that highlight her individuality. Whenever she describes her husband, she uses terms like “my lord,” or “my liege-lord” (6-7). The Wife speaks with these terms to allude to her position as retainer to her husband and lord. The terms may adhere to subordination, but they also adhere to Anglo-Saxon masculinity and the language of the common warrior and overlord relationships within men at the time. In her feminine lament of pain, she boldly speaks in the language from which she is traditionally excluded. She is the warrior in this scenario, forced to live out on her alone and thrive by her own means. Although she is kicked out of the tribe and left for dead, she is no longer anybody’s tool. She fends for herself. Towards the end of the poem, there is a moment when she even describes her husband as her “weary friend” (49). She settles for considering him her equal. Although they are not together, they both endure the harsh solitude of exile. This exemplifies her profound wisdom that goes unnoticed by those who underestimate