Throughout history women’s role in society has continuously changed and prospered, and is continuing to alter as time goes on. A role in society more often than not develops to become better or satisfies the people to which it affects. There has not been a time without the need for women and there will never be such a time, for the human race as we know it should in fact go extinct. With such an important role in the reproduction of humans, women were not always held to the standard importance that they possess, and only until recently have they been molded into a role of higher significance. Adrienne Rich’s “From an Old House in America” is an enlightening poem that depicts women’s roles throughout society from being merely just an object
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32-34). She then goes on to deny the statement only to say she wants to speak about the mistreatment of women, as well as trying to perceive the difficulties with her husband. She begins to do this by looking at the past of women who had lived in the ranch house before her, wanting to see the development of treatment towards them. Rich is trying to see the shaping of women’s relationships with the male species by recalling history to understand how it has conditioned her and all of American women (Ortega 45-46). This becomes hard for Rich to do for the records of those before her are scarce, and all that remains is the house and whatever the house contains. Throughout the poem, Adrienne Rich modifies her language to disclose feminist perceptions and give an insight to the lives of those women who had lived before her. She examines her own personal past to connect to the lives and hardships of all women, including past, present, and those in the future. Without personal experience Rich would not be able to convey the message she tries to relay to the …show more content…
They are harmful to women, men, and have led to wars along with leading to women’s own self-hatred to themselves. Women must achieve a positive acceptance of their primary relationships with their mothers, for mother-daughter relationship is underlooked for it is given to the father in order to prepare for marriage. Separation from that relationship is integral to the separation of women from one another, their “allegiance” with men, and their consequent underrating of themselves along with other women (Werner 34-35). Rich uses the first pronoun “I” to identify with the women’s past she had recalled, saying “I am an American woman” which is recognition of how present has been shaped by the past.
In addition, Rich goes on to say she pledges to end the “isolation” between American women and to end the social order by attempting to engage audience in order to effect changes in consciousness and action. Bringing to light the lives of women who have been forgotten and underrated and offers them as models and inspiration by expressing how these women have shaped our history (Atwood 14-15). She begins to find sources of women’s oppression and to also find solutions for them as well. Engaging to the fact that the past has in fact shaped the
32-34). She then goes on to deny the statement only to say she wants to speak about the mistreatment of women, as well as trying to perceive the difficulties with her husband. She begins to do this by looking at the past of women who had lived in the ranch house before her, wanting to see the development of treatment towards them. Rich is trying to see the shaping of women’s relationships with the male species by recalling history to understand how it has conditioned her and all of American women (Ortega 45-46). This becomes hard for Rich to do for the records of those before her are scarce, and all that remains is the house and whatever the house contains. Throughout the poem, Adrienne Rich modifies her language to disclose feminist perceptions and give an insight to the lives of those women who had lived before her. She examines her own personal past to connect to the lives and hardships of all women, including past, present, and those in the future. Without personal experience Rich would not be able to convey the message she tries to relay to the …show more content…
They are harmful to women, men, and have led to wars along with leading to women’s own self-hatred to themselves. Women must achieve a positive acceptance of their primary relationships with their mothers, for mother-daughter relationship is underlooked for it is given to the father in order to prepare for marriage. Separation from that relationship is integral to the separation of women from one another, their “allegiance” with men, and their consequent underrating of themselves along with other women (Werner 34-35). Rich uses the first pronoun “I” to identify with the women’s past she had recalled, saying “I am an American woman” which is recognition of how present has been shaped by the past.
In addition, Rich goes on to say she pledges to end the “isolation” between American women and to end the social order by attempting to engage audience in order to effect changes in consciousness and action. Bringing to light the lives of women who have been forgotten and underrated and offers them as models and inspiration by expressing how these women have shaped our history (Atwood 14-15). She begins to find sources of women’s oppression and to also find solutions for them as well. Engaging to the fact that the past has in fact shaped the