The Loves Portrayed In Living In Sin

Essay, Research Paper

The Loves Portrayed in Living in Sin

With anxiety and some precaution, Adrienne Rich presents an image with multiple meanings. Her ability to present thoughts in such a precise manner allows the reader to envision possible interpretations and, yet, to focus, finally, on the main point she makes: A woman bound to her husband feels, by forces beyond her control, the need of a frequent visitor.

Rich, with delicate hints, enters the evil which encompasses the sin insinuated throughout the poem. The reader stands aside with the ?approacher? and peeks in through grimey panes. He does his bidding and departs, leaving the woman but a memory to recognize him when he comes again. Meanwhile the husband?s unaware figure is present and then is not. The woman must make haste of what she has formed–an evil dust on ?the furniture of love.?

A boiling pot of coffee on the stove signifies normalcy, but the woman is caught in a twister of emotions. Mate or milkman? Two different loves overwhelm her. Only one steals her from her slumber. She is controlled by lustful demons she does not wish to rebuke. In a battle of soul and flesh, Rich emphasizes the dominance of the flesh in a story, unfortunately, too commonly known.