The Oppression of Women

This poem is in direct conversation with the ways women have been subjugated and diminished over time. The speaker alludes to this eternal dilemma when she says, “We’ve been told / since eternity’s first grumpy yawns” (Lines 8-9). The message women have received has always remained the same. In Christian mythos (the basis for many of these oppressive beliefs), eternity begins with the fall of Eden — a turning point blamed on female independence. The speaker goes on to discuss the relationship between women and physical beauty, a trait arguably nurtured for the benefit of men. In cultivating this offering to the world, a woman can rise “out of the cinders” (Line 10) and become oppressed in a different way.

The speaker goes on to discuss how women are expected to behave in relationships: delicately spoken, and “[un]accompanied by intellect” (Line 38). Intelligence, Perrault...