In "To the Ladies" by Mary, Lady Chudleigh, the treatment of women by men is highlighted as downgrading and poor. The poem indicates the advantages men can take over women especially when married. It expresses the ideas of the 17th and 18th centuries towards women. "When she the word Obey has said, And man by law supreme has made..." shows the reader the respect that women were forced to give to men (Chudleigh 950). I have also just recently read the short story "Eveline" by James Joyce. A fan of Joyce, "Eveline" was among one of my favorite works of his, up there with "Ulysses" and some of the other stories found in "Dubliners". In "Eveline", a woman faces the choice to chase her loves or stay at home with an abusive family. Her wants and desires, in fact, are what drive her. But she knows that her father rules over her, so she decides to stay at home. Eveline, like the woman in "To the Ladies", stays with the comfort of her own home, and refuses to stray away from the normal. Although both are under control of a man, their only hope is to stay and hope for the best because that is what they know best. Their lack of adventure keeps them from leaving.
I didn't pay close attention to the word "Obey" the first time I read the poem. But after I read your post and then the poem, I fully understood the true power in the word since it is capitalized and italicized. And I also is cool that you said it is Eveline's desire to leave that makes her stay at home. I felt that it was a different way of thinking, and it was creative. Nice Job!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you described the life as woman in "To the Ladies," and made clear how much they had to obey their husbands. I agree with you about how "Eveline" was about staying at home and hoping for the best, but i think that "To the Ladies" was telling women never to even get married in the first place, and enjoy the freedoms that they have.
ReplyDeleteI think I might agree with Gordon here--how do you read the end of the poem?
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