IndexIntroductionThe narrator's complaints about the patriarchal nature of marriageThe introductory role of stanza 1The patriarchal act of death of stanza 2The passivity of the woman in stanza 3The beginning of the woman's abandonment in stanza 4The patriarchal implications of marriageThe narrator's desperation towards escape from marriageThe movement towards death in stanza 5The false immortality in stanza 6ConclusionWorks Cited Websites Books:Magazines:IntroductionAmong the various topics that appear in literary texts, death is an aspect that many writers will address For centuries, death has been described as an extremely bad, evil, disastrous but sadly inevitable character. However, in the poem "Why I Couldn't Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson, she adopted a rare description of death and personified her as a gentleman calling. a pleasant journey with her to the grave Scholars have debated the possible implied meanings of the poem as her obvious death wish is mysterious (Priddy 41). Adopting the research framework proposed by Priddy (214) and Semansky (24), this article argues that “Why I Couldn't Stop for Death” is a statement on the unhappiness of marriage through adopting a feminist reading. The entire analysis presented in this article follows the approaches of Priddy (214) and Semansky (24) in the feminist reading of the poem with also reference to the opinions of other scholars and my interpretations. Begin with explanations of how the poem expresses the narrator's complaints about the patriarchal nature of marriage by examining the first four stanzas of the poem. Then his desperation towards running away from his marriage will be presented as in the remaining two stanzas. The essay will conclude by underlining the importance of analysis to understand Emily Dickinson's life and the society of that period. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Narrator's Complaints About the Patriarchal Nature of Marriage The Introductory Role of Stanza 1 The poetic expression of the narrator's complaints about the patriarchal nature of marriage is significantly depicted in the first four stanzas of the poem. In the first stanza, the narrator of the poem is told of being visited by a gentleman personified as "death." This initial depiction and the continuing descriptions of the image of the carriage, the courtesy of the “gentleman,” and the action of stopping open up the poem's uses of courtship to bring out its theme and content (Crosthwaite 22). Serving as an introductory stanza, although the first three lines do not strongly suggest the idea of ​​his complaint towards marriage, the last line of this stanza which describes the concept of "immortality" is actually the main theme of the poem which contributes to the atmosphere of the poem. main plot (Galperin 64). Also supported by Semansky (24), this is a crucial element in support of his complaints about marriage. “Immortality” is contrasted in the last stanza of the poem where further discussion will be made. The Patriarchal Act of Death in Stanza 2 After making an introduction, the second stanza reveals further textual evidence to support the thesis. Start by describing the negative aspects of their relationship. “Death” insists that the narrator abandon both “work” and “leisure” in his life. Because of Death's apparent civility, the narrator has no choice but to accept his invitation. According to Galperin (66) and Semansky (26), the masculine nature of relationships is hidden here. The narrator is quitepassive in that she can only follow what "death" has asked her to do, where the role of "death" as a metaphor for her husband is at this stage revealed. Despite his complaint, in fact, we could still observe his lack of trust towards "death" through the narrator's use of the positive noun "civilization". This implies that at this stage the narrator still had some desires to achieve a lifelong healthy relationship with her husband (Semansky 26). But the descriptions in the remaining stanzas show that it is only an illusion. The woman's passivity in stanza 3 Moving on to the third stanza, their journeys to different places that resemble different times in their lives are further described. They drove slowly through several familiar sights of the city, seeing cornfields near the local school and its playground. All of these images suggest phases of their lives that they experienced together (Johnson 34). The most significant element in this verse will be the frequent use of the word “passage”. A seemingly pleasant journey, the word “pass” implies that she is given no opportunity to gain further experience in those places (Galperin 68). It is held up as another denunciation of the male-dominated nature of marriage. Every aspect of women's lives is under the strictest control of men without being given any rights to further exploration (Priddy 216). The beginning of the woman's abandonment in stanza 4 The first line in stanza four is literally significant and works as a connection and shows a contrast until the last line of the third stanza. Instead of saying “We passed the setting sun,” she self-corrected as “Or rather—He passed us—.” This is supported by Semansky (24) who suggests the passivity of herself in a male-dominated society. The sun functions as a metaphor for social norms. It is the social norms that reinforce male patriarchal ideology to them without giving the narrator and other women the right to make changes in their lives. The following lines of this stanza further describe a significant scenario. We are told that she is not properly dressed as she wears only a “transparent dress” and a “tulle lace cap.” She was left alone. She also didn't feel comfortable, her husband didn't give her any support. Beyond that, the narrators' emotional descriptions and suffering in the form of “trembling” and “cold” in the next line further act as a kind of literal coldness that suggests his sadness in the marriage (Semansky 25). The image portrayed here once again shows the narrator's complaint and dissatisfaction with her marriage, with an increasing intensity when compared to the previous stanzas. Patriarchal Implications of Marriage The first four stanzas, as argued from the point of view of the captions, have significantly expressed his grievances and dissatisfaction towards his loss of freedom in marriage which supports the assertion of the poem's depiction of the unhappiness of the marriage. Marriage is only an obstacle to a woman's individual freedom. Once a woman gets married, it is like getting on the carriage of “Death” with no return. The narrator's desperation towards escaping the marriageThe movement towards death in stanza 5The description of her unhappiness in the marriage reaches a climax in the remaining two stanzas, in which she expresses her desperation towards escaping the marriage. At the beginning of the fifth stanza, “Death” is described as taking the narrator to his new home which is obviously a grove. It is described as “A bulge in the ground” whose roof is “barely visible” with “Cornice” in the ground. According to Semansky (24), this “house” can be seenas “both a bridal house and the tomb of the speaker's love and marriage.” Metaphorically the "Cornicione" is the only visible part of the house. Without a door in the grave there is no possibility of escape from death, as if it were not possible to escape mortal marriage. The only visible part, the frame, is a very famous symbol in the poem as Nyren claims (16). What the frame portrays is the image of elegance and beauty, but underneath there are always sad stories from her life, no matter how beautiful she is. However, the deceased will never have the opportunity to express their feelings towards him. Equally comparable to marriage; apparently marriage is considered romantic and happy, the sad scenes in marriage can hardly be seen and understood by outsiders (Woolf 46). Every man would express the excellence of marriage with other people and the truth is always hidden. Women have no way and right to express their sadness in a male-dominated society, leaving only a false representation of marriage. False immortality in stanza 6. The first two lines of this final stanza express his hatred of the repetitiveness of marriage. “Centuries have passed since then, yet each / Seems shorter than the Day.” Marriage is nothing but torture to her and therein lies her vision of escape (Knapp 78). The phrase “first supposed” in the following line, as suggested by Semansky (27), is an ironic image in the poem that expresses the narrator's bitterness at being deceived. Using the horse as a symbol: horses' heads usually face down but not up, expresses the narrator's feeling towards the ridiculousness of marriage. While at the beginning he still had little hope of believing that the “coach ride”, i.e. the love relationship, could last forever, in the end it ends in nothing. What in the poem is defined as "eternity" and "immortality" is nothing other than a sort of annihilation of the dream that leaves only prolonged torture. Dickinson's careful blending of love and death into one character leads to a statement regarding the interdependence of love and death. When you choose to get love, you would inevitably eventually face death. Marriage always leads to the death of individuality and freedom. The narrator regrets getting into the carriage, but unfortunately it will remain "eternal" in the "grave" with only an apparent representation of happiness without any possible hope of escape. Conclusion In the analysis of the caption, it is argued that “Why Couldn't I Stop for Death” is a statement on the unhappiness of marriage through adopting a feminist reading. As a matter of fact, many literary critics also comment that many other poems of Emily Dickinson can be read in a feminist way and some scholars even consider her a feminist poet (Priddy 52). This can be explained with reference to the social status of women in the mid-19th century when she was born woman was only to be subordinate to her husband. Neither rights nor freedoms were granted and many devastating situations of women were dealt with (Wikipedia, “Emily Dickinson”). her poems, which was one of the only possible ways for her to express herself (Wikipedia, “Feminist Literary Criticism”). Throughout Dickinson's life, she did not marry (Knapp 35). Subtitle analysis may also provide an answer to her decision, as the poem simply serves as a denunciation of the suffocating and limiting nature of marriage, in which she did not dare to take and board the "coach ride" to support herself throughout life. freedom..