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Poetry, practically since the existence of literature
as a prolific avenue for individualistic perspectives, has presented
itself as one of the most relevant literary branches for espousing
personal impressions regarding various socio-cultural, political and
psychological issues. Gender based discrimination, racial profiling and
stereotyping, religious fervor and politically induced inequality; all
have reflected significant topics for poets over the years. This,
moreover, is something that is emphasized when considering it in light
of gender based implications presented within the two poems, ‘Things
Cheaply Had’ and ‘The Farmer’s Wife’, respectively by Talisma Nasrin
and Anne Sexton.
Addressing Nasrin’s stance in ‘Things Cheaply Had’ One of the first
things that come to mind when considering Nasrin’s poem in its entirety
is the seemingly ridiculous light disregard that appears to be infused
into the portrayal of women collectively. This is something that is
emphasized when considering the introductory three lines of the poem,
which read: ‘In the market nothing can be had as cheap as women. If
they get a small bottle of Alta for their feet
They spend three nights sleepless for sheer joy’ (Nasrin: Lines 1 -
3) The ‘market place’ when considering it in light of the entirety of
the poem, comes through as a symbolic reference to society. This,
moreover, is something that particularly tends be illustrated when
considering it in retrospect to the concluding lines. Furthermore, the
collective comparison of women to ‘the mangy cur of the house barks now
and then’ (Nasrin: Line 13) can be interpreted as a reference to the
incapability of women to speak out against particular offenses that are
carried out against them. This incapability to speak is reflected
within the poets assertion that there is ‘a lock, a golden lock’
(Nasrin: Lines 15 – 16) ‘over the mouths of women cheaply had’ (Nasrin:
Line 14). It is quite apparent, thus speaking, that the gist of
Nasrin’s poem implies that women are perceived as little more than
things that can be coaxed into offering themselves for the meager sum
of materialistic values.
Comparing Nasrin’s stance to that of Sexton’s in ‘The Farmer’s Wife’
Anne Sexton’s poem, ‘The Farmer’s Wife’, is similar to Nasrin’s ‘Things
Cheaply Had’ in as much as the fact that Sexton too, adopts a stance
that espouses the disadvantageousness of trials of feminine oppression.
Although this collective disregard for women is implied within the
title, as the poet declines from naming the farmer’s wife, it is
accentuated more strongly when contemplating the lines that read:
‘That she has been his habit; As again tonight he'll say Honey bunch let's go’ (Sexton: Lines 7 - 9)
It would be relevant to here contemplate the manner in which the
terms ‘habit’ and ‘honey bunch’ have been employed, each in close
communion to the other so as to emphasize again the disregard which
appears to be infused into the portrayal of females. While the use of
the term ‘habit’ tends to have an inevitably demeaning impact on the
entire concept of marriage, the added employment of the term ‘honey
bunch’ serves to accentuated the irony underlying the situation. The
difference, however, between Nasrin and Sexton lies in the fact that
while the former takes no steps towards using conceptually using the
theme of the institution of marriage, the latter uses exclusively this
theme. Doing this, Sexton manages to the capture a deeper, more
psychological or spiritual aspect of the oppression of females, one
that leans towards collectively portraying them as something like
sexual pets; objects to be used exclusively for the physical
fulfillment of lust. The following lines tend to be especially
significant in this context: ‘That old pantomime of love That she wants
although
It leaves her still alone’ (Sexton: Lines 16 - 18) It is quite
apparent, thus speaking, that Sexton’s poem leans towards espousing the
disadvantageousness of a marriage within which the love is only one
sided, coming from the woman, while the male has nothing more than
physical fulfillment on his mind. The fact that the ‘farmer’s wife’
wishes her husband ‘lonely, or sometimes, better, my lover, dead’
(Sexton: Lines 31 - 32) serves as a testimony to the emotional impact
that the woman’s husband’s detachment has upon her.
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