The Feminine Identity in Carolyn Kizer

Fearful Woman

Stefani Amanda Anggi Riany

124214130

English Letters Department

Sanata Dharma University
2014/2015

I.

Introduction
The inequality of sexes between men and women has become serious issue since
long time ago. Women often despised and blamed by men, starting from the sin that
Eve made. At the beginning of the emergence of literary work and its glory, not many
women poet are known, even women are not allowed to write and get an education.
This takes a long time until women fight for the equality of sexes which is called
Feminism.
Carolyn Kizer was born in Spokane, Washington in December 10, 1925. She went
to get her comparative mythologies bachelor degree from Sarah Lawrence College in
1945 and study as graduate at both Columbia University (1945-1946) and Washington
University (1946-1947). She later studied poetry in Washington University during the
mid 1950s. Her works were influenced by Keats, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Dylan
Thomas.
In this Fearful Woman, Kizer takes Greek mythology and Christian literature to
represent the status qou that supports certain gender role and ideal. She use this
allusion to represent that women challenges the roles, she is actually the one to blame
and then ignored by the society and made an example of in order to further limit the
potential growth of women as an individuals.
In this paper, Im going to use the theory of Lisa Tuttle about who has defined
feminist theory as asking "new questions of old texts." She cites the goals of feminist
criticism as:
(1) To develop and uncover a female tradition of writing,

(2) To interpret symbolism of women's writing so that it will not be lost or ignored by
the male point of view,
(3) To rediscover old texts,
(4) To analyze women writers and their writings from a female perspective,
(5) To resist sexism in literature, and
(6) To increase awareness of the sexual politics of language and style.

A. Writing Formula
i.
Analyzing the allusion of the poem represent the meaning or the purpose of
ii.

the writer.
Interpret the symbols uses in the poem.

Poem
Fearful Woman
Carolyn Kizer
Arms and the girl I sing - O rare
arms that are braceleted and white and bare
arms that were lovely Helen's, in whose name
Greek slaughtered Trojan. Helen was to blame.

Scape-nanny call her; wars for turf

and profit don't sound glamorous enough.
Mythologize your women! None escape.
Europe was named from an act of bestial rape:
Eponymous girl on bull-back, he intent
on scattering sperm across a continent.
Old Zeus refused to take the rap.
It's not his name in big print on the map.
But let's go back to the beginning
when sinners didn't know that they were sinning.
He, one rib short: she lived to rue it
when Adam said to God, "She made me do it."
Eve learned that learning was a dangerous thing
for her: no end of trouble would it bring.
An educated woman is a danger.
Lock up your mate! Keep a submissive stranger
like Darby's Joan, content with church and Kinder,
not like that sainted Joan, burnt to a cinder.
Whether we wield a scepter or a mop
It's clear you fear that we may get on top.
And if we do -I say it without animusIt's not from you we learned to be magnanimous.

II.

Analysis
As mentioned on the introduction, Kizer takes Greek mythology and Christian
literature. We can see the allusion of Greek mythology on the first until the sixth
stanza.
Arms and the girl I sing - O rare
arms that are braceleted and white and bare
arms that were lovely Helen's, in whose name

Greek slaughtered Trojan. Helen was to blame.

Scape-nanny call her; wars for turf
and profit don't sound glamorous enough.
Mythologize your women! None escape.
Europe was named from an act of bestial rape:
Eponymous girl on bull-back, he intent
on scattering sperm across a continent.
Old Zeus refused to take the rap.
It's not his name in big print on the map.

In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy, also known as Helen of Spartan was the
daughter of Zeus and Leda, she was considered to be the most beautiful woman in the
world. She was wanted by many Kings in Greece but then she was married with
Menelaus, king of Sparta. Then Paris, King of Trojan came to Sparta to claim Helen
because he was promised by Aphrodite the most beautiful woman in the world which
was referred to Helen. Paris then abducted and rape Helen and took her to Trojan. It
upsets Menelaus and caused the Trojan War. Its also caused the society blamed Helen
who caused the war. This allusion of the Trojan War demonstrated that the society
was looking for someones responsible, they chose an easier target in the society: the
woman.
The seventh until tenth stanzas are using the allusion of Adam and Eve where the
blame was also fall upon woman.
But let's go back to the beginning
when sinners didn't know that they were sinning.

He, one rib short: she lived to rue it

when Adam said to God, "She made me do it."

Eve learned that learning was a dangerous thing

for her: no end of trouble would it bring.
This allusion of Adam and Eve demonstrate that woman was weak and easy to
affected with sweet words, woman thought to be the cause of the first sin and blamed
for making Adam (men) sinning. In ninth stanza, it illustrated the desire of Eve about
knowledge and then she is punished of her own curiosity.
An educated woman is a danger.
Lock up your mate! Keep a submissive stranger
like Darby's Joan, content with church and Kinder,
not like that sainted Joan, burnt to a cinder.
Whether we wield a scepter or a mop
It's clear you fear that we may get on top.
And if we do -I say it without animusIt's not from you we learned to be magnanimous.
In these last four stanzas, it is illustrated that Darbys Joan was submissive, she
played the role that was given to her by declaration of her sex, but Joan of Arc did not
play that role and therefore was burned. But, she doesn't end on a negative note, but an
empowering one, one realistic (double shift for women today, lower pay, and maternity
leave). She uses if instead of when in And if we do -I say it without animus-It's not
from you we learned to be magnanimous.

III.

Conclusion

Overall, Kizer use alludes to different instance of female inferiority, due to mans
wrong ways. Another allusion about Adam and Eve demonstrate for a man
committing a sin just as great as the womans. Kizer has demonstrated when women
remains fearful, men will continue to abuse their power, through imagery and
allusions. However, if women embrace their magnanimous selves, they can get on
top then women can finally be in control of their own lives and end the suffering.

IV.

References
http://www.poemhunter.com/carolyn-kizer/
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fearful-women/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Tuttle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_of_Troy
https://sites.google.com/site/feminismtheuntoldstory/
http://writersinspire.org/content/feminist-approaches-literature
Feminism as an Approach to Literary Criticism.pptx presented by Samuel Jay C.
Pasia
Madsen, Deborah L. Feminist Theory and Literary Practice: Pluto Press. 2000.