Estamos en el mes del amor, ay Dios mío que bonito! We are in the month of romantic "love," for this reason, I decided put one of the most powerful poem that I have ever read in my entire life. Yes, my entire life! "Among Women" by Marie ponsot.
Throughout history in many societies, women always have been in unequal systems where society imposes stereotypes and absurd rules on them. As a result, this unequal system makes women feel that they have to lose their freedom in order to love freely. This is exactly what Marie Ponsot shows in her poem “Among Women.” Marie Ponsot demonstrates the way that women should love freely and how important it is to recognize this freedom; Ponsot develops this poem with hyperboles and paradox which highlight feelings and add special features to her characters. The meaning of loving freely is deeper than what it seems. In this poem, the author shows how the speaker’s grandmother wanted her granddaughter to learn her right to this freedom to love or not to love whomever she decides.
The poem begins with the speaker questioning in general terms “What women wander?”. “to wander” means to walk around slowly in a relaxed way, without any clear purpose or direction. Therefore, the reader can assume that the poem is about something negative; who would want to walk in any direction without an objective? However, the question refers to more than the literal dictionary definition of the word. Why should women always walk with a purpose, or why not? The author is not only referring to walking, literally, but is referring to how women choose to live their lives and make their life choices, including whether or not to fall in love, settle down, have a family, and do all the things women traditionally do. Those women who “wander” could be understood as women who choose not to go down this traditional path, but instead make other choices about where they want to go in their lives. Then, the second line answers the speaker’s question of “what women wander” with “Not many. All. A Few.” This means that only a few women actually make the choice in their life to “wander”, or to love freely who their choose (or choose not to love at all). The tone in this line lets the reader know that not many women can wander, or they choose not to. Not many women can love freely - just a few. Why not?
In the next two lines the speaker shows the reader that she is a women and she feels the need wander too, which means to love with freedom. The speaker says “Some, and I’m one,” marking herself as one of the women she is describing. Moreover, she is “Wandering sitting still”, meaning that even when she is not actually out in the world wandering, or loving freely and making choices about her life, she is “wandering while sitting still”. This means that even when the speaker is not actively participating, she is still thinking about wandering, and daydreaming about it. This makes the reader imagine that the speaker has a great desire to “wander,” or to love freely, and this takes up all her mental and emotional energy, even when “sitting still.”
In line 7 the speaker makes a reference to her grandmother. The speaker says “My small grandmother,” this is used to describe a person, it can mean “young,” but clearly, her grandmother is not a young person. However, it could be that the author was referring to when her grandmother was younger, as she describes many of her grandmother’s life choices and how she chose to love. The word “small” could also bring to mind a negative connotation, like “less than,” but in fact the author could be using this as a paradox. In fact, her grandmother was great and wise, and taught her many things. Saying “my small grandmother” could be a way to say “my wise grandmother”. After line 7, the speaker says that her grandmother “..Bought from every peddler.” “Peddler” is a word that in the past meant someone who sold things house by house. But why did the speaker’s grandmother buy from each seller? Then the speaker says “..Less for the ribbons and lace;” the grandmother bought from the peddlers, not because of what they sold, but because of their “scent” - referring perhaps literally to the smell of men she found attractive, but more figuratively referring to the “scent” or the air or feeling of the freedom she felt being with the peddlers. When the speaker refers to “ribbons and lace,” she is also bringing to mind the image of the traditional women of the time, who were only supposed to busy themselves with feminine, domestic concerns like sewing, and making themselves look beautiful and attractive with “ribbons and lace” for other men, in order to achieve their ultimate life goal of catching a good husband and settling down. However, the reader is reminded that for those women who chose to “wander,” like the speaker’s grandmother, they were not concerned with ribbons and lace, but rather with the peddlers themselves and their “scent” of freedom. Thus, the grandmother likes buy thing from each peddler just for the fact that she likes feeling free, and this is represented by the “scent.”. In these four lines is where the hyperbole starts, and the author starts to show the most significance of this poem.
In line 10 the speaker says, “..Of sleep where you will” which is still part of the last sentence because in line 10 there is no period. The grandmother reminds her granddaughter to feel something that she wants, or “Of sleep where you will;” in other words, sleeping where she wants, with who she wants, or alone if she so chooses. She says “Walk out when you want,” urging her granddaughter to be in control of her own life and her path, doing the things she wants, rather than settling down just because this is expected of her by societal expectations. Thus the grandmother is telling the speaker not to feel afraid to wander in life; to be free; to love freely. Therefore, she says “..choose Your bread and your company,” which means to choose whatever thing you want to choose, or the men that you want or choose the women that you want to choose. Love freely.
The speaker remembers that her grandmother warned her, “Have nothing to lose.” That means not to be afraid of taking a risk, and knowing that even if it does not work out, she will be okay. In other words, the grandmother is letting her granddaughter know that if she loves freely and this love disappoints or mistreats, she can leave him/her. Do not feel afraid, and feel the same “scent” of freedom that the grandmother felt when bought from the peddlers.
In the next paragraph in the line 14, the speaker starts to remember who her grandmother was, and she says,”She looked fragile but had High blood, runner’s ankles.” This is a description of a woman who appears to be vulnerable, but life has taught her to be strong. She may look “fragile” on the outside, but she is full of inner strength and wisdom. For this reason the grandmother “Could endure, endure.” This means she could bear suffering. The reader also knows that this line is very significant because it is the only place where the author repeats. She says the word “endure” twice, meaning that she really endured, and makes the reader imagine all the things she may have suffered and overcome in life. The reader understands the author’s point that her grandmother was the strongest person, not fragile.
Therefore, the grandmother “Loved her rooted garden,” and “..her Grandchildren” instead of loving a man. The grandmother decides to love freely, who she chooses, her family, instead of the stereotype that society imposed upon her. She wanted that the speaker to feel free to do the same. However, this does not mean she never fell in love, or was incapable of loving a man. In the line 19 the speaker tells the reader that her grandmother once loved a “Wild man.” With the word “wild,” the author is saying that grandmother once loved someone who was a wanderer like her. However, things with this love, this “wild man” may have gone wrong, so the grandmother chose instead to love her garden, and her grandchildren. Whereas society may have forced women to stay with their husbands and settle down no matter what, the grandmother was a wanderer, and loved freely the people and things that made her happy. In addition, the poem ends in the same way it starts, in general terms, with the speaker saying, “Women Wander As best they can.” Here is the only place where the author uses a rhythm with “man” and “can,” adding extra emphasis to this line in the poem. Here, the author is conveying her main point in the entire poem, using rhyme as a tool to draw readers’ attention to this point.
Finally, Marie Ponsot creates a poem with a complex issue, using an intergenerational relationship between a wise woman “the grandmother,” and her granddaughter, a figure that many readers can relate to, no matter where they are located in history. Using the wisdom the grandmother passed down to her granddaughter, the author is trying to pass along a message to her readers to show that one does not need to suffer the expectations that society puts upon women, but that they should choose to love freely, just as the grandmother chose to love her family and her garden instead of a love who can hurt her. Women can love with freedom or decide not to love. Women can wander.
The poem begins with the speaker questioning in general terms “What women wander?”. “to wander” means to walk around slowly in a relaxed way, without any clear purpose or direction. Therefore, the reader can assume that the poem is about something negative; who would want to walk in any direction without an objective? However, the question refers to more than the literal dictionary definition of the word. Why should women always walk with a purpose, or why not? The author is not only referring to walking, literally, but is referring to how women choose to live their lives and make their life choices, including whether or not to fall in love, settle down, have a family, and do all the things women traditionally do. Those women who “wander” could be understood as women who choose not to go down this traditional path, but instead make other choices about where they want to go in their lives. Then, the second line answers the speaker’s question of “what women wander” with “Not many. All. A Few.” This means that only a few women actually make the choice in their life to “wander”, or to love freely who their choose (or choose not to love at all). The tone in this line lets the reader know that not many women can wander, or they choose not to. Not many women can love freely - just a few. Why not?
In the next two lines the speaker shows the reader that she is a women and she feels the need wander too, which means to love with freedom. The speaker says “Some, and I’m one,” marking herself as one of the women she is describing. Moreover, she is “Wandering sitting still”, meaning that even when she is not actually out in the world wandering, or loving freely and making choices about her life, she is “wandering while sitting still”. This means that even when the speaker is not actively participating, she is still thinking about wandering, and daydreaming about it. This makes the reader imagine that the speaker has a great desire to “wander,” or to love freely, and this takes up all her mental and emotional energy, even when “sitting still.”
In line 7 the speaker makes a reference to her grandmother. The speaker says “My small grandmother,” this is used to describe a person, it can mean “young,” but clearly, her grandmother is not a young person. However, it could be that the author was referring to when her grandmother was younger, as she describes many of her grandmother’s life choices and how she chose to love. The word “small” could also bring to mind a negative connotation, like “less than,” but in fact the author could be using this as a paradox. In fact, her grandmother was great and wise, and taught her many things. Saying “my small grandmother” could be a way to say “my wise grandmother”. After line 7, the speaker says that her grandmother “..Bought from every peddler.” “Peddler” is a word that in the past meant someone who sold things house by house. But why did the speaker’s grandmother buy from each seller? Then the speaker says “..Less for the ribbons and lace;” the grandmother bought from the peddlers, not because of what they sold, but because of their “scent” - referring perhaps literally to the smell of men she found attractive, but more figuratively referring to the “scent” or the air or feeling of the freedom she felt being with the peddlers. When the speaker refers to “ribbons and lace,” she is also bringing to mind the image of the traditional women of the time, who were only supposed to busy themselves with feminine, domestic concerns like sewing, and making themselves look beautiful and attractive with “ribbons and lace” for other men, in order to achieve their ultimate life goal of catching a good husband and settling down. However, the reader is reminded that for those women who chose to “wander,” like the speaker’s grandmother, they were not concerned with ribbons and lace, but rather with the peddlers themselves and their “scent” of freedom. Thus, the grandmother likes buy thing from each peddler just for the fact that she likes feeling free, and this is represented by the “scent.”. In these four lines is where the hyperbole starts, and the author starts to show the most significance of this poem.
In line 10 the speaker says, “..Of sleep where you will” which is still part of the last sentence because in line 10 there is no period. The grandmother reminds her granddaughter to feel something that she wants, or “Of sleep where you will;” in other words, sleeping where she wants, with who she wants, or alone if she so chooses. She says “Walk out when you want,” urging her granddaughter to be in control of her own life and her path, doing the things she wants, rather than settling down just because this is expected of her by societal expectations. Thus the grandmother is telling the speaker not to feel afraid to wander in life; to be free; to love freely. Therefore, she says “..choose Your bread and your company,” which means to choose whatever thing you want to choose, or the men that you want or choose the women that you want to choose. Love freely.
The speaker remembers that her grandmother warned her, “Have nothing to lose.” That means not to be afraid of taking a risk, and knowing that even if it does not work out, she will be okay. In other words, the grandmother is letting her granddaughter know that if she loves freely and this love disappoints or mistreats, she can leave him/her. Do not feel afraid, and feel the same “scent” of freedom that the grandmother felt when bought from the peddlers.
In the next paragraph in the line 14, the speaker starts to remember who her grandmother was, and she says,”She looked fragile but had High blood, runner’s ankles.” This is a description of a woman who appears to be vulnerable, but life has taught her to be strong. She may look “fragile” on the outside, but she is full of inner strength and wisdom. For this reason the grandmother “Could endure, endure.” This means she could bear suffering. The reader also knows that this line is very significant because it is the only place where the author repeats. She says the word “endure” twice, meaning that she really endured, and makes the reader imagine all the things she may have suffered and overcome in life. The reader understands the author’s point that her grandmother was the strongest person, not fragile.
Therefore, the grandmother “Loved her rooted garden,” and “..her Grandchildren” instead of loving a man. The grandmother decides to love freely, who she chooses, her family, instead of the stereotype that society imposed upon her. She wanted that the speaker to feel free to do the same. However, this does not mean she never fell in love, or was incapable of loving a man. In the line 19 the speaker tells the reader that her grandmother once loved a “Wild man.” With the word “wild,” the author is saying that grandmother once loved someone who was a wanderer like her. However, things with this love, this “wild man” may have gone wrong, so the grandmother chose instead to love her garden, and her grandchildren. Whereas society may have forced women to stay with their husbands and settle down no matter what, the grandmother was a wanderer, and loved freely the people and things that made her happy. In addition, the poem ends in the same way it starts, in general terms, with the speaker saying, “Women Wander As best they can.” Here is the only place where the author uses a rhythm with “man” and “can,” adding extra emphasis to this line in the poem. Here, the author is conveying her main point in the entire poem, using rhyme as a tool to draw readers’ attention to this point.
Finally, Marie Ponsot creates a poem with a complex issue, using an intergenerational relationship between a wise woman “the grandmother,” and her granddaughter, a figure that many readers can relate to, no matter where they are located in history. Using the wisdom the grandmother passed down to her granddaughter, the author is trying to pass along a message to her readers to show that one does not need to suffer the expectations that society puts upon women, but that they should choose to love freely, just as the grandmother chose to love her family and her garden instead of a love who can hurt her. Women can love with freedom or decide not to love. Women can wander.
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