INIHINKING

www.thinkib.net

notdehued

The feminist critique of patriarchy by poet Carol Ann Duffy in her

poetry collection The World's Wife

Poems addressed: 'Thetis', 'Little Red-Cap', and 'Salome'

The poet Carol AnnDuffy should be regarded as the poet of clichés by her
incorporation of aspects from time-worn traditional stories. This applies to her poetry
collection The World's Wife where Duffy transforms these stories from the
perspective of women. Notably, Duffy explores the extent of patriarchy and how it
has affected the position of women both in the past and present. For example, the
expectations imposed on women to enter motherhood and marriage. This essay,
therefore, attempts to examine how patriarchy is critiqued in The World's Wife.

Duffy utilizes a first-person narrative to transform the stories from the perspective of
a female protagonist. For example in the poem Thetis', Duffy's choice to utilize a
first-person narrative depicts the expectations that are put on women as a result of
patriarchy. Specifically, the female protagonist transforms into a diferent kind of
animal or force of nature at the start of each stanza to escape the grasp of a male
antagonist. Consequently, this enforces the expectation of women to enter
motherhood. The reason is that each transformation remains unsuccessful by the
man reaching her and the female protagonist undergoing childbirth in the end.

The attempt of the protagonist to escape motherhood is futile because of the extent
of patriarchy. The futility is reinforced by Duffy's lexis: "So I shopped for a suitable
shape. /Size 8. Snake." (13-14). Arepetition of the sibilant sound 's" at the
beginning of several words occurs. Sibilance contributes to the tranquil tempo of the
poem by creating the sound of whispering quality. The poem possessing a tranquil
tempo is in contradiction to that of the protagonist attempting to escape. This artistic
choice, albeit it may appear contradictory, highlights that the protagonist is aware of
her futility to escape motherhood.

O David Mcintyre, InThinking

htps://www thinkib.nevenglishalanglit 1
 ICHINKING
www. thinkib.net
Furthermore, any attempt by the female protagonist to establish her independence
within the patriarchal seting remains unsuccessful. For example: "1 scrawled my
name with a hurricane" (41). The word choice of the protagonist's name being
"scrawled" indicates that her attempt to establish independence lacked certainty
similar to how scrawling would result in sloppy handwriting. However, the depiction
of patriarchy extending to that of forces of nature is hyperbolic. While patriarchy does
not result in a complete lack of independence, the exaggeration reinforces the issue
that women are subject to control.

Duffy also proposes the idea that marriage is detrimental from the perspective of the
protagonist in a patriarchal setting. For example: "and my kisses burned, / but the
groom wore asbestos" (45-46). The choice of "asbestos" suggests that marriage is
detrimental to women similar to how prolonged exposure to asbestos causes
sickness and death. The suggestion of detriment is reinforced by the tactile imagery
of the "kisses" being associated with a burning sensation and the personification of
the "kisses" being able to do so. A burning sensation is commonly associated with
fire that may be utilized as a symbol to represent love. However, in this case of it
being mentioned in conjunction with the effect of asbestos, the aforementioned
literary devices mutually contribute to the idea that their marriage is detrimental by
their love causing them harm.

The poem Little Red-Cap' offers a similar perspective on patriarchy and how it
affects intimate relationships. In the poem, the wolf acts as a symbol of male power.
This perspective is reinforced by the wolf's academic background and an expression
of confidence. For example, Duffy depicts that he was "reading his verse out loud / in
his wolfy drawl" (7-8). The wolf reading his "verse" implies he is reciting his poetry
which would imply an academic background as poetry commonly consists of
complex lexis. Additionally, the wolf is depicted as reading in a manner of a"draw".
The feature of drawl describes a slow manner of speaking that is frequently
associated with fatigue. However, in this case, it rather represents his confidence
because of his loud manner of speaking.

O David Mcintyre, In Thinking

htps//www.thinkib.novenglishalanglit
 INTHINKING
www.thinkib net
The depiction of the wolf as confident is contrary to the female protagonist who
refers to herself as waif (12). The term is associated with someone who is either
abandoned or neglected. The wolf and protagonist are therefore juxtaposed to each
other as one represents confidence and the other vulnerability. The aforementioned
vulnerability is what the wolf attempts to exploit sexually. As the wolf acts as a
symbol for male power, Duffy attempts to convey that women are exploited within
patriarchy. However, the aforementioned perspective is to an extent one
dimensional. Despite the female protagonist existing within a patriarchal setting, she
is not meek without desire. The wolf and protagonist are juxtaposed to each other
similar to what is portrayed in "Thetis'. The key difference is that the female
protagonist in 'Thetis' is rendered helpless against the male antagonist whereas in
'Little Red-Cap' she is not.

Instead, the female protagonist attempts to discover her identity through her
relationship with the wolf. Specifically by her discovering a passion for poetry,
however, the wolf does not grant the protagonist the possibility to express herself.
This is reinforced by a metaphor of how their relationship is akin to how a
"mushroom /stoppers the mouth of a buried corpse" (32-33). The wolf is restricting
the protagonist to express her passion similar to how a mushroom would gag the
mouth and thus her strive for identity is restricted. The usage of "buried corpse"
however may imply that the suppression of female identity within patriarchy is a
generational issue. That is, other women who are now buried corpses have
experienced the same problem as the protagonist.

Consequently, Duffy encourages female independence and rejection of patriarchy,

which is why the aforementioned criticisms are feminist as they focus on the
perspective of women. This perspective is reinforced by the protagonist killing the
wolf, symbolically killing patriarchy. Subsequently, she is described by: "Out of the
forest Icome with my flowers, singing, all alone" (42). The usage of "flowers" is
commonly used as a symbol of joy or gratitude, "singing" that she can express
herself by voice, and "all alone as it has been done by her establishing
independence. Duffy. therefore, proposes the idea that rejection of patriarchy results
in female independence and happiness.

David Mcintyre, In Thinking

httpsJwww.thinkib.netlengl1shalanglt 3
 INTHINKING
www.thinkib.net

The sense of rebellion toward patriarchy is also expressed in the poem 'Salome'.
The poem depicts a female protagonist who engages in "one night-stands" with men
and proceeds to murder them. Primarily the poem serves as a feminist critique of
how men and women are allowed to express themselves sexually within patriarchy.
A
common gender norm is that women are not allowed to be promiscuous outside
relationships. This perspective is reinforced by there existing several derogatory
terms for sexually active women whereas not as a few exist for men.

Duffy hence critiques patriarchy by depicting a female protagonist who is

promiscuous. The rebellion however appears obscene rather than encouraging as in
the 'Little Red-Cap'. For example, a shift occurs from the first-person perspective of
the poem to a third-person perspective: "who'd come like a lamb to the slaughter / to
Salome's bed" (31-32). The effect of the female protagonist referring to herself in the
third-person perspective contributes to the dissociation of her heinous actions.
Therefore the protagonist is devoid of any self-reflection and thus the responsibility.

Furthermore, a simile is utilized to refer to the men as akin to a "lamb to the

slaughter". The line is biblical and therefore evokes Christ. The effect is that the
immoral protagonist is juxtaposed with a presumably moral character such as Jesus
Christ. This further contributes to the reader's perception of the obscenity of
Salome's actions. This perspective is significant as it is an attempt to depict a
woman as exercising behavior that is more acceptable for men as a result of
patriarchy. Though the depiction is hyperbolic, it attempts to highlight the irrationality
of women and men not being able to act in the same promiscuous manner outside of
relationships by the reader being shocked by the woman doing so.

To conclude, The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy remains an insightful piece of
feminist literature. Duffy attempts to critique several aspects of patriarchy such as
the expectation to enter marriage and motherhood as portrayed in 'Thetis'. Though
also the restrictions imposed on female identity and sexual expression as portrayed
in 'Little Red-Cap' and 'Salome'. This is depicted by a variety of literary devices, but
also usage of symbolism, and shift of narrative to propose moral dilemmas.

ODavid Mcintyre, In Thinking

htps/www.thinkib. nevenglishalanglt