"All things within this fading world hath end,
Adversity doth still our joys attend;
No ties no strong, no friends so dear and sweet,
But with death's parting blow is sure to meet.
The sentence past is most irrevocable,
A common thing, yet oh inevitable,"
When I read this, I thought Anne Bradstreet was talking about how when women get pregnant they are expected to drop everything in their lives and be all about their child. In the third line I believe she is talking about the friend she has that their friendship is strong, but "death" is coming near. By death I believed she was talking about the birth of the child. She saying that this sentence cannot be changed but its unavoidable. I feel like is society today people mostly see it as the women's responsibility to take to the care taker of the child, and the man to be the bread winner. But sometimes when people see single moms they don't really think anything of how the father left because "it is the women's" responsibility. But when people see single dads they most of the time comment on how the mother must be a bad mother. I think that there is a double standard in society.
I really enjoy this stanza that you have pulled out. I specifically remember writing it down and highlighting it because it struck me in some way. I like your interpretation of it very much, because it's true that when women have a child or get pregnant they're entire life revolves around that child, and they should be thinking of that child when they're sleeping, eating, cleaning, anything and everything. It's inevitable but that some important aspects of your pre-child life are going to disappear or pass, but it's for a good reason.
ReplyDeleteGood post!
I agree with you that there is definitely a double standard in society however, when I first read this I originally had a similar interpretation to yours, then I read it over a few more times and I think she is not using "death" figuratively. I think this poem is more about the possible death that could come from during labor.
ReplyDelete