Holly Tammens
Women’s rights have come a long way in the past 100 years; nonetheless, it is no secret that women are still subject to gender prejudice in society. Women are equal in intelligence to men; however, women are still shockingly paid less than men, and are often victims of physical and mental abuse from tyrannical men. Margaret Atwood is a well-known feminist author who often writes about the oppression of women in society. In her mysterious poem “This is a Photograph of Me,” Atwood utilizes several aspects of nature observed in a photograph to symbolize the dominance of men over women in our oppressive society. She demands society as a whole to see through the stereotypes placed on women and observe the true importance and significance women have in history and our present lives.
Atwood employs a great deal of symbolism in her poem to express the theme
of female oppression. This symbolism is perceived in the blurriness of
the photograph, the tree branch, the slope, the house, the lake, and the
reflected light off of the lake. The distortion of the images in the photograph
represents the negative labels put on women. We have to look past this
distortion to see what the images are, or to observe the real essence
and importance of women. Everything in the picture, literally and symbolically,
is affected by the photograph’s distortion. The small hill that
“ought to be a gentle/ slope” (11-12), represents the challenges
women have in overcoming female prejudice. This challenge should be effortless,
but it is instead an arduous climb. The small frame house symbolizes women
as a whole and women’s place in society. Generally, women are physically
smaller than men, and they are often viewed as the weaker gender. Also,
the home is commonly observed as a woman’s place in society instead
of solving problems in the workforce. The emerging tree branch signifies
the many problems or difficulties behind the unfair treatment of women.
A single tree branch has one main branch with many equally significant
smaller branches stemming from the main branch. There is one main problem
with society’s negative views on women and many other difficulties
emerging from the main problem. The woman in the poem is hidden beneath
the water of the lake; her spirit and voice are veiled by the lake’s
water: “The effects of water / on light is a distortion” (22-23).
The water portrays society’s male dominance that is warping the
true voice of women represented as the light reflected off the water.
Atwood urges us to look past the distortions of prejudice and see the
true images or profound significance of women in our society. Atwood also strategically places parentheses in the text to separate
the poem into two halves. In the first half, she describes a landscape
photograph that has been distorted for some unknown reason. The reader
can assume that the photo is black and white and therefore very old, because
it is described with “blurred lines and gray flecks” (4).
The black and white photograph represents a time in history when prejudice
against women was astoundingly prevalent. The second half of the poem
is completely enclosed by parentheses. This is the section where she reveals
herself as the heart and subject of the photograph. The existence of parentheses
often indicates that the contents inside of them are not as important
as the regular text. By using parentheses in the description of the woman’s
spirit, Atwood is demonstrating how women are often viewed as insignificant.
The poem is clearly divided into two halves with the description of the
landscape in the first half, and the existence of the woman’s essence
in the second half. The lake in Atwood’s poem could also be connected with a powerful
symbol of femininity. The art of symbolism portrays water as strongly
feminine; in addition, water that emerges from the earth is interpreted
as a gift from the womb of Mother Nature. This is reminiscent of Atwood’s
image of the lake; generally, natural lakes are born from flowing springs
that are from the earth. The beginning of all life occurs within the “water”
of the female womb. Therefore, the lake may represent the female womb
or birth of life, and the submerged woman may symbolize women’s
strong voice and true nature that is eagerly prepared to be born into
a male-dominated world. The striking connection of water to the female
spirit is demonstrated through the gifted ability of women to nurture
and produce life within the fluid of their uterus or womb. In Atwood’s
poem, feminine power is ready to be born into a world of gender equality. Atwood’s peculiar and strongly feministic poem is full of symbolism. The poem comes across as a morbid description of a photograph taken of a dead woman hidden underneath the lake she drowned in. Knowing that Margaret Atwood is a renowned feminist writer, leads me to believe that the poem’s symbolically hidden main theme is the oppression of women in a male-dominated society. The fact that the photograph is blurred, the aspects of the landscape, and the use of parentheses to divide the poem could be interpreted in various ways; however, the underlying theme is overwhelmingly feministic in nature. |