One of the author's biography that was interesting and really impacted her writings was Felicia Hemans. Unlike the previous writers, her father did not decease but left her mother to "Canada" and never return causing her mother to raise the family as a single parent. She interprets her feelings about being hurt by the men in her life starting with her father leaving her mother and her husband leaving and never returning from his trip. She emphasizes the duties of a woman, and the betrayal portrayed by the men in her life especially in The Wife of Asdrubal.
It is a tragic story that the wife kills her children on the burning roof, but she does it to save them rather than hurt them. Her husband had sided with the enemy just to save his life and risks the lives of all others. She seems to protect her children from future suffering that she had endured. This pain is probably from the pain endured by her father and husband. That is her duty as a mother to protect her children "and fain would rush for shelter to her breast"(407).. It is inspiring to see even throughout all the neglect of the men in their lives, that Hemans and her mother could go on and raise their families during that period of time when women were not a real part in society, not having jobs, and social status. To be hurt, she still inspires to not give up and make her life and her family live in the best standards she can provide.
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3 comments:
Linh,
OK remarks and generalizations on Hemans and this poem, but you don't go into much discussion of particular passages. In fact, you only quote a single line, and don't really analyze that one. I would prefer posts that pay closer attention to the text, and go into more depth of analysis.
She probably did endure pain from her father and her husband's abandonment, but i think that's what makes her such a powerful writer.
I like how you interpreted the poem and I agree with you. I think that by killing her children she was in a sense saving them from pain.
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