Discuss reclaiming the legacy of matriarchy and the feminist heritage in diving into the wreck - Essay Example

Reclaiming the legacy of matriarchy and the feminist heritage in "diving into the wreck" Feminist literature is not somethingnew in the field of literature. It is something that has been taking place in broad spectrum of fairy tales, folks, songs poems, and many other ways. Rich perceives feminism as the murky deep task that forces her to dive into the deep sea and find out the sunken ruins. She prepares well for this venture, she surveys the damaged wreck by long-lived myth, and she therefore plunders the hulk ancient treasure in resemblance to the ship as a female figurehead.

Rich grasps androgyny and combines strengths pledging her to a future vision (Rusch). From the poem, we can see that Rich is looking back into the past and wants to reclaim the past. Through using the symbolism of the diving together with the shipwreck, a reflection of the past, which was damaged, is evident. In order to do this Rich has to dive in deep water which looks dark and black symbolizing the dark and black times that the females undergo through their lives. Reclaiming female legacy is not easy and is represented with fear.

For the fear, Rich does not die directly into the wreck but uses a ladder that descends in the water (Rusch). This symbolizes the toughness the female gender undergoes. The ladder, which is the only sign of hope, carries threats of buoyancy and suspension by waves of water. After Rusch discovers the wreckage, she assembles crew that helps in finding out the ancient mystery. On the process of searching, mysterious things happen. Some of the many incidents that happen include what people undergo when they lose technology.

Mixture of chemicals is also some of the horrible incidences that the crew encounters. The wreckage they find i said to be having deep political sanctions. Rich and her crew aim at destroying the wreckage. The current technology being used is not far from the ancient one. This creates the feeling and tension for the crew since they are about to rescue an ancient wreckage. However, there is also a possibility that the government will pay well for ancient technology in order to conquer rebellious planets.

In the fight for reclaiming feminism, the author suggests that she must carry a weapon on her mission. She carries a knife, which she uses to protect herself. Fight for feminism also requires that the female gender select and uses various tools for protecting themselves against attacks. Rich is looking for damage that occurred to the spaceship but at the same time she is keen to protect her legacy. She says that “ I came to see the damage that was done and the treasures that prevails” (Rusch).

Rich is interested in both the present and the future and that is why she assembles a team for the venture. Rich compares the female gender as a treasure that has been lying on the ground for a long time stored inside barrels and left to rot. “whose silver, copper, vermeil cargo lies obscurely inside barrel’s half wedged and left to rot” (Rusch). Rich also uses the camera as a reflection to the males. She accuses the males for their continuous suffering. In the end of the poem, she says, “we are, I am, you are by cowardice or courage the one who find our way back to the scene carrying a knife, a camera a book of myths in which our names do not appear” (Rusch).

Male chauvinism is evident in the last stanza of the poem Rich accuses the males for taking leadership roles in the society but fails to identify the females. She says that their names fail to appear in the book of myths. Rich also continuously identifies her as he. She quotes twice that she is he. This is a sign that the author uses to identify the strengths of the females in the society. Her role of leading the other crewmembers in finding the remains of the wreckage also shows a leadership role of the female character which aims at reclaiming matriarchy in the society.

The author identifies herself as a black mermaid who indicates a harmful prey that is ready to attack. She continues by saying that they circle the wreck just about to attack. The author compares herself to a true mermaid that circles on the periphery of the prey when almost attacking. This kind of act and behavior indicates the feminism role in the poem and the act of reclamation. Works Cited Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Diving into the Wreck. New York: Pyr; Original edition, 2009.