Mother and Poet - Historical Figure of Laura Savio - Essay Example

Mother and Poet The poem “Mother and Poet” is based upon the historical figure of Laura Savio, an Italian woman who was a patriot and raised her sons to uphold nationalistic ideals, only to end up losing both of them to uphold those same ideals. The narrator of the poem is also a poet who writes verse urging self sacrifice for patriotic ends, but in the poem, the speaker equates her maternal and poetic vocations, so that the narrator’s development as a poet is linked up to the development of her sons. When they die at the end of the poem, it appears that the narrator’s abilities as a poet also disappear, and she feels that the sacrifice that women are being called upon to make is too hard for them to bear. She has been judged to be good at her art despite being a woman, because she fosters patriotism, however the poet questions the patriarchal roots of society that mandate the raising of boys as little soldiers and demanding the ultimate sacrifice from women rather than from men. According to Cooper (1988:147) the poem “Mother and Poet” appears to be an indictment of patriarchy. This work of the poet must be examined within the context of her earlier work in Aurora Leigh, where she described the poet’s act of creation as one that is invariably attributed to be male, since poets are those who produce poems which “are men, if true poems.” (Barrett-Browning, AL:5,1181, 3:90-91). However, in the poem “Mother and Poet”, the male figure of the boys’ father is dispensed with altogether and the mother appears to be the all encompassing figure in the poem, subtly alluding to the need for a resurgence of the importance of females. The entire poem is centered upon the female figure of the mother and the deliberate exclusion of the father figure appears to reinforce an underlying indictment of patriarchy which decries the ability of women to produce poetry, as illustrated in Browning’s earlier Aurora poem. The growing awareness of the poet about the tragedy of war is reflected in the poem “Mother and Poet”. The poet upholds the ideals behind the war, especially in the context of the Italian struggle for independence, and believes that the war is succeeding. But her focus in the poem is on the experiences of Italian women and she has highlighted how women actually give up more than the men, during a war, because “the birth pangs of nations will wring us [women] at length into wail such as this – and we sit on forlorn” (Barrett-Browning:93-94). Even the woman who is able to bear the pains of child birth with fortitude is unable to bear the pain of being separated from a son in death, yet the male dominated society demands such sacrifices from women in demanding that they produce little soldiers and prepare to lose them at death. In specific reference to Barrett-Browning’s poems on Italy, including “mother and Poet”, Sandra Gilbert argues that these poems has “more to do with both her femaleness and her feminism than is usually supposed.” (Gilbert 194). Although the poem appears to deal with the subject of war, it also underlies the message that greater sacrifices are expected from women in a patriarchal society. The poet subtly alludes to the condescending attitude of men towards women, in their attitude towards her poems; they judge her “good at her art, for a woman” (Barret Browning, MP: 1.7). The work appears to be related in context to her former poem Aurora Leigh, in answering the question posed in the former poem on what kind of art can a woman be good at? In the poem “Mother and Poet” the narrator appears to respond to this question with, “Oh vain!” (Barrett Browning, MP: 1.10). In effect, the narrator is refusing to answer the question and this very refusal to answer suggests that she has already proved her talent as a poet despite being a woman, which is further indictment of a male dominated society which refuses to acknowledge women on their own merit. In the poem “Mother and Poet”, the narrator specifically questions what’s art for a woman (Barrett-Browning, MP: 1.16). She then equates this to the raising and nourishing of children and thus highlights the role of woman as their nurturer and educator. In proudly describing how she has fed them as little babies, she even encourages their violent playfulness. (Barrett Browning, MP: 11.11-15). However, she then further provides an underlying indictment of patriarchy, as she describes the process of civilization of her sons, by outfitting them as little soldiers in long clothes and neat little coats. This represents a separation of the children from the spontaneity with the mother to conform to the rules and norms of society that is founded along patriarchal lines. She has to provide them the training and the mindset that will prepare them for war, an event that will separate them from her and subject her to loneliness and a sense of loss, so that it appears to her that voice will ever again say “Mother” to her. (Barrett Browning, MP: 1.59). After sending her sons out to war, the poet still hopes that they will return home in triumph once they have fulfilled the duties that their camp training has prepared them for; that they will return home to discard their uniforms and attend to her. (Barrett Browning, MP:1. 34). The death of her first son Guido is in itself a blow, but she endures this bravely, since she can now imagine him as a saint, but the death of her second son as well is a devastating blow. The art and poetry which had once been her source of pride because it served to establish her place in the world of men, now becomes meaningless because the same patriarchy has resulted in her sons being sacrificed. She bitterly recalls how she had “prated of liberty, rights and about the tyrant cast out” but after the death of her sons, the fight for Italy’s freedom appears to her to be akin to “hewing out roads to a wall; if we have not a son.” Her poetic abilities also appear to die together with the death of her sons, since the inspiration to create art appears to have been lost with them and the poet states that while she was a poet only the previous year, she is now too anguished to provide another “great song for Italy free”. The very cause of nationalism has ceased to have meaning for her because she has lost her children. She has had to bear the ultimate sacrifice, due to the values and norms forced upon her by a patriarchal society that made her raise her children as little soldiers, only to send them to their death. References: * Barrett-Browning, Elizabeth. “Mother and Poet” * Barrett-Browning, Elizabeth. “Aurora Leigh” * Cooper, Helen, 1988. “Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Woman and Artist”, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press * Gilbert, Sandra M, 1984. “From Patria to Matria: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Risorgimento”, PMLA, 99: 194-211 Read More