Carol Ann Duffy wrote two collections of poems, ‘The World’s Wife‘ 1999 and ‘Standing Female Nude’ 1985, in order to scrutinize the representation of both genders by reconstructing many of the ‘voiceless women’ throughout history. In fact, the title ‘The World’s Wife’ is an idiom that shows men being the norm as “The World” whereas women are the other counterpart, the companion, the “wife”. This idea of ‘othering’ is illustrated by many feminists such as Helen Cixous, Sian Evans, Betty Friedan and Simone De Beauvoir who have constructed many feminist beliefs as observations of the patriarchal society. This is specifically evident in the poems ‘Eurydice’ and ‘Standing Female Nude’ which are about dissatisfied females, subjected to the sidelines who speak for the women of the wider world.
The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is a Roman myth that concerns the fateful love of a creator and his muse, of course, written by a man. Helen Cixous is quite critical of this and believes that the world is described by language that is biassed against women. In fact, the earliest examples of western literature were written by Roman and Greek poets such as Plato, Virgil and Homer (all men) who created works to reflect their own society thus reinforcing the existing societal roles and frameworks. In “The Literary Looking-Glass”, Sian Evans points at the “remarkable power of literature to not only reflect but also to shape the society of which it is a part”. This signals to the reader about the power of masculine hegemony to frame the culture of our world to their advantage which inevitably leads to woman’s disadvantage due to the power imbalance. It is why Duffy counteracts this form of oppression by rewriting this myth, adding in the factor of a talking, breathing Eurydice. Eurydice tells “Girls,” to “forget what you’ve read” because “It happened like this-”. Duffy then highlights the toxicity of the myth had Eurydice been allowed to voice her emotions instead of being “trapped in his images metaphors, similes, octave” otherwise known as masculine hegemony. Cixous believed that the structured way of writing is masculine because it is rigid and controlled whereas the female expression is free-flowing and non-linear. This reigns true as Duffy writes the poem free-verse, with irregular length lines and stanzas to match the meaning and to reflect the varying moods. Overall, Duffy rewrites this myth that has been thrust upon Women for millennials to give them a voice and opinion of their own therefore taking away the patriarchal power from the story.
In Stanza 5, Eurydice lists the names that Orpheus calls her but none crediting her as a real individual – “Dearest, Beloved, Dark Lady, White Goddess etc, Etc.” It is relevant to consider how all these endearments start with capitals implying that these nouns, shallow of meaning, subject her to the basic being of his muse, therefore, the stereotypical other to his own individual often written about in literature. In fact, Simone De Beauvoir profusely mentions “the ides of women’s “otherness” [inferiority] has been reinforced and perpetuated through religion, philosophy and society.” which is definitely portrayed through the irony and bluntness of the speaker. An example of De Beauvoir’s point is how Orpheus calls her “Dark Lady” which is the subject of some of Shakespeare’s sonnets. He clearly classifies himself somewhat adjacent to Shakespeare thus igniting his inflamed ego and makes Eurydice, his Dark Lady equal to one of Shakespeare poems, an object, a thing comprised from man and most importantly, not her own person. Duffy is writing about a mythological woman who represents weary, exasperated women the world over. Eurydice could be regarded as an allegory for all unhappily married females.
It is relevant to consider that these last lines of the poem are the most significant as they sum up the egotism of Orpheus, the inequality of genders and the legacy that this poem leaves to the world. As the speaker remarks how “The dead are so talented”, it is clear that without her talent, inventiveness and imagination, Orpheus would not be considered “legendary”. This could be regarded as an allegory to indicate how men would be nothing without the undervalued women of the world. The ambiguity here offers a second option where the now dead, Eurydice is ‘talented’ because she trumps him by fueling into his conceit and egotism. In a way, she regains her power and takes matters into her own hands. The idea of women in power (not being complacent, compliant and passive) being villainized or perceived as unnatural by media, propaganda and society, in general, is a wide concept explored by many feminists. In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan explores how “women who struggled for their rights were seen as “unnatural monsters” who were trying “to disrupt God’s order of subservient women”playing the magnificent role of the manipulative woman oppressed by the masculine hegemony who are forced to use limited means to their advantage, much like Dido, Cleopatra and many other villainized women of history. As Eurydice concludes how “the living walk… near, the wise, frowned silence of the dead.”, the reader surmises that death is being glorified. It is therefore plausible that being dead is the only time that both genders are considered one and equal. This idea relies upon how the only place that Eurydice finds solace and equality is in death where both genders are passive, compliant and inert. Perhaps this is why she considers the dead “wise” because they don’t have reason to adhere to any societal conventions and that is enough to silently rest in peace. It is clear that Duffy is making a significant point about how a patriarchal society is so toxic and inhumane, that death would be a pleasurable escape.
Duffy gives voice to a naked model who is underprivileged and oppressed by a greater power, the male artist and society. This idea is portrayed in her lifestyle that edges the border of prostitution, with the model spending “Six hours like this for a few francs. Belly Nipple Arse in the window light.” From the outset of the story, the speaker is clearly not impressed with her earnings (“a few francs”) or the hypocrisy of the middle-class – “I shall be represented analytically and hung in great museums. The bourgeoisie will coo at such image of a river whore. They call it art.” It is clear that they respect her existence only in the context of galleries but find her immoral otherwise. In “The Second Sex”, Simone De Beauvoir makes a strong case that “Woman is required to make herself an erotic object” but to what extent is too far? How is modelling nude different from pornography especially when the artist “stiffens at her warmth”? And how is pornography different than prostitution?
The key aspect discussed in this poem is the power imbalance between the two characters. In the third stanza, the speaker describes how “he possesses me on the canvas and dips the brush repeatedly into the paint”. It is relevant to consider how the paintbrush is a phallic symbol of the power and control because it is used to oppress and objectify the female character. He asserts power by controlling the atmosphere, her figure and has the ability to shape and craft her image to his ideal form. It is clear that she is expected to model flawlessly despite the fact that she is starving, shivering and standing in one pose for six hours. Georges also points out how she is “getting thin” which “is not good” but is only referring to his painting rather than her well-being as she is straying away from the ideal picture he is trying to portray. This is the same type of oppression that Betty Friedan calls to attention in the Feminine Mystique. She points out how the Woman’s magazine writers shift from women to men in the 40s to 50s. Friedan also highlights the change in the main characters between the two periods, from career girls, independent, brave women to all housewives. This idea of the patriarchal system enforcing the oppression of women through art is clearing shown in “Standing Female Nude” where even the Queen of England calls this distorted, unrealistic and male interpreted version of the nameless prostitute “Magnificent.” This also calls out the double standard as she is regarded by society as an immoral woman yet the male portrayal of her is a magnificent masterpiece. Therefore things that enforce the patriarchal society are valued higher whereas a woman relying on herself and selling her body to survive is quite frowned upon.
It is clear by the blunt, backhanded compliments that the speaker is quite contempt towards the artist. As she states “Little man, you’ve not the money for the arts I sell.”, the reader’s initial impression is that she doesn’t succumb to the influences of the women being inferior which renders his status and power useless against her independence and sense of self-worth. Though she is quite aware of her status in society, bluntly calling herself a “river-whore”, she does not try to escape or hide the life she lives. Rather she lives happily “filled with wine, dancing around bars.” In The Second Sex, De Beauvoir is critical of women’s sense of self importance – “On the day when it will be possible for woman… not to debase herself but to assert herself – on that day love will become for her.” This could be well said for this model, who prostitutes her body to be objectified and surveyed yet smiles in the face of the artist as he shuts her up because he is uncomfortable with questions about his life. She sees through his blustering assertion of authority and it seems he is more insecure than she is. Even though she holds a low status in her community, it is clear that she possesses more meaning to her life than to succumb to the strict conformity of her people. She realises one of these people to be the Painter, Georges who is more focussed on pleasing society rather than using art to express himself.
Duffy’s poems creates the personas of women who are considered to be on the edge of society. She often gives a voice to the voiceless by focusing her poetry on the advantaged men and underprivileged women. She couples this with barbed sarcasm and irony in both ‘Eurydice’ and ‘Standing Female Nude’ to show the contempt in this idea. In the last poem, the speaker is quite cynical of the world which follows reminiscent traces back to the feminists mentioned above. Using their theories and Duffys reconstructions of the past masculine creations, it is clear that women of all time have been dissatisfied, yet only now do we have a voice.
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