Lines 1—3

An analysis of "Apple sauce for Eve" should actually begin with the title. The accepted spelling of "applesauce" is as one word, so there must be a reason that Piercy chose to separate it into two. The subject and themes of the poem suggest that the word "apple" needs to stand alone for its significant allusion to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. The word "sauce" becomes significant for its indication that the Eve in this poem is doing something more with a piece of fruit than the Eve of religious lore was given credit for.

In the first line, "Those old daddies" refers to the writers of the first books of the Old Testament and of other religious doctrine that relates the story of humankind's original sin, perpetrated by a woman. Note that the word "daddies" is chosen instead of "fathers," perhaps because it...