By moi. The Conflict between Writing and Motherhood. Spelling by Margaret Atwood is a poem about the travail of a woman in relation to her sex and profession, which in this case is writing. Margaret Atwood makes use of metaphorical context to elucidate her conviction about the struggles of a female writer.
She agrees with Virginia Woolf, that a woman needs a room of her own in order to be able to write, but illuminates the conflict of motherhood that a woman goes through as a barrier to being a focused and successful writer. Perhaps, in line with the androgynous thoughts, the poem could have started with watching my child play on the floor which would have been a neutral statement and the sex of the narrator could be debated. However Atwood does the opposite of that, from the very first word, it is obvious that the poem is about motherhood and the narrator, feminine.
The notion of motherhood is emphasized in the opening stanza of the poem since it is taken for granted that it is the mother who is particularly focused on the educational development of a child. It is the mother who is amazed and focuses much attention on the learning development of her child.
She is mostly the one who sits with her child, plays Lego and other developmental games with her daughter. She is the one who teaches her child the first few letters, words, shapes and object before handing him or her over to the educational system. With this opening stanza, the picture of a female narrator is solidified in the reader's mind.
As the picture of a mother looking at her daughter play with plastic letters stands out, one is fascinated with the colors chosen as the hue of the plastic letters, because they are basic primary colors and the building block of all others colors. This is a metaphorical way of showcasing the fundamental of learning and transitions effectively into. Through this, the provision of the basic amenity of literacy is dealt with: the fact that words are fundamental to writing, reading and speaking.
All through the first five lines, the innocence of childhood is expressed and one feels comfortable; however, the fifth line disorients the reader and indicates that all is not right in paradise.
It is stated that the daughter is learning how to make spells. With this, the words take up a darker side and relates with witchcraft: a deeper side of construction and compellation with use of words.
This sense of disorientation is conveyed throughout the next stanzas. The second and third stanzas reveal a case of substituting motherhood with writing: locking of oneself in a room so that words can be formed and poems written; and denying one's daughters, believed to take after their mothers, thanks to time spent together. There is a struggle between the professional desire and the maternal instinct: a feeling of suppression.
The struggle is enforced in the next stanza with use of an allegorical scene of a woman prevented from giving birth. A witch burning. Eating Fire: Selected Poetry London: Virago, Current Site Birmingham, West Midlands, UK. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email Address never made public. Follow Following.
Let's Explore Sign me up. There is also no male equivalent for this abuse, it can only be done to a woman. Mary Webster was a resident of Puritan Hadley, Massachusetts, was accused of witchcraft in Webster was left hanging all night.
Without literacy the mind has nothing. Words give women more power, the words become damaging for men. The burnt body shows how when there is no language used we cause destruction. Whether in life or death, the body speaks. Webster has been through a true crucible and emerges to tell a story of women confronting their fragility. You are commenting using your WordPress.
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