the ladies’ defense and to the ladies

The Image of Women in Lady Mary Chudleigh Poems:

The Ladies’ Defense and To the Ladies

A Thesis

Submitted to Faculty of Letters and Humanities in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Strata One (S1)

LALA NUFAELAH 1110026000077

ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS AND HUMANITIES

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH JAKARTA

2015

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ABSTRACT Lala Nufaelah, The Image of Women in Lady Mary Chudleigh Poems: The Ladies’ Defense and To the Ladies. Thesis: English Letters Department, Letters and Humanities Faculty, State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, 2015.

This research is aimed at finding the portrayed of women and described the women stereotypes in two poems of Lady Mary Chudleigh. These poems created in the early eighteenth century of England where patriarchal system is dominated every aspect of life. In this research, the researcher uses qualitative descriptive method and sociological approach as the theory to connect the poem and women condition in society. Besides that, the researcher also examines the words of poems using figure of speech that has the biggest contribution to the whole meaning of poems.

The first poem, The Ladies’ Defense (1701), portrayed women as creature that always in the lowest position, do not have a chance to change their fate, and never get appreciation from their husbands. Similar with the first poem, the second poem, To the Ladies (1703) portrayed about women in marriage who should be obedient to her husband, everything they do always by the permission of men, and they only being passive and submits to the fate as women. In addition, this research also described about the stereotypes of women, such as women only be complement for men’s life, women as passive creature, and women as entertainment. In short, both of these poems figure out the women condition that always in the inferior side while men in the superior side.

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DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best

of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or

written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been

accepted for the award of any longer of diploma of the university or other institute

of higher learning, except where due knowledgment has been made in text.

Jakarta, March 17th, 2015

Lala Nufaelah

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The first and foremost, the writer would like to thank Allah SWT who has

given. So, the writer can finish this thesis. The second, the peace and blessings

poured out for him the great prophet Muhammad SAW who has paved the way

towards the vision of science.

The writer would like to express his gratitude for her advisors, Elve

Oktafiyani, M.Hum. and Pita Merdeka, M.A. who always give advices,

inspirations, critiques, and kindness that never replaced by all things for guidance

her in finishing the thesis.

On this golden opportunity the writer also would like to express great

gratitude and sincere to:

1. Prof. Dr. Oman Fathurahman, M.Hum., the Dean of Faculty of Letters and

Humanities.

2. Drs. Saefudin, M.Pd., the Head of English Letters Department.

3. Elve Oktafiyani, M.Hum., the Secretary of English Letters Department.

4. All the lectures of English Letters Department for all the sincerity and

knowledge that has been given.

5. Her parents (Mr. Asymuni Arsyad & Mrs. Sumiyati), my only one sister Dian

Mudrikah and all family for the supports, great satires and never ending love.

6. Her lovely friends Dian, Dilla, Ega, Desi, and Dery who always give their best

smile and bad jokes for her spirit, Happy C Family, Literature class, In the

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Arms of Love Crew, KKN Keys, and the special one Affiet Kulona Pacitani,

thanks for your sensational speech to finish this research.

Jakarta, March 17th, 2015

Lala Nufaelah

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…...…………………………………………………………………. i

APPROVAL SHEET………………….………………….…………………...... ii

LEGALIZATION………..……………………..……………………………… iii

DECLARATION................................................................................................. iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…….………………………….………………….......v

TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………vii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION.......................................................................... 1

A. Background of the Study………............................................................ 1

B. Focus of the Study……………………..................................................3

C. Research Question……………………………………………………...3

D. Objective of the Research …..................................................….….......4

E. Significance of the Research …..............................................................4

F. Research Methodology…………………………………………………4

1. Method of Research.....................................................................4

2. Technique of Data Analysis….....................................................5

3. Instrument of the Research….......................................................5

4. Unit of Analysis………………………………………………...5

5. Time and Place….………….............................................…… 6

CHAPTER II THEORETICALFRAMEWORK….......................................… 7

A. Previous Research…....................................………………..………….7

B. Sociology of Literature………………………….…...............................8

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C. The Position of English Women in Marriage (Early Eighteenth

Century)……………………………………………………………….11

D. Figures of Speech……………………………………………………..15

CHAPTER III RESEARCH FINDINGS……….............................................. 19

A. The Portrait of Women in Each Poem…............................................. 19

1. The Ladies’ Defense ………………………………………….19

2. To the Ladies…………………………………………………..29

B. The Stereotype of Women in Both Poems The Ladies’ Defense (one

part of Melissa’s answer) and To the Ladies.........…..…….…….………34

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION…........……..…….....38

A. Conclusions………....................................…..……….........................38

B. Suggestions…..……......................................…….............…………...40

BIBLIOGRAPHY……..…...........…..……..……..………..….............…......... 41

APPENDICES……..…...........…..……..….……..……..…..............…………..43

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Poetry as a contemporary literature is one of works that just used some

words which has deeper meaning for every people who read it. The Norton

Introduction to Literature defines poetry as “a language that tells us, through a

more or less emotional reaction, something that cannot be said”.1 In short, poetry

is a language that says more or less emotional reaction than ordinary language.

The language that used in poetry can replace, represent, and describe something.

In contrast from other literary works, language in poetry needs more concentration

because they bring many impressions in every selection words and draw feelings

which contribute to create meaning, create something that is more receptive.

Poetry is like a mirror concept of life because poetry does not only tell us

about the emotions, and feelings, but also about society, history, social tragedy,

and critique. Poetry makes us sharpen our imagination and deepen our perception

of life because they can express new things or something that we have already

known but only vaguely. For example, the women’s life in seventeenth and

eighteenth century which critique by Lady Mary Chudleigh (1656-1710) who

born in Winslade in country of Devon, England. In that era, women position is in

the second position, subordinate, and the men in the high places. It means, the

men have much power to restrain the life of women. Women here are described as

human that cannot live without men, all of things which they do is always for men

1 Jerome Beaty, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, Kelly J. Mays, The Norton Introduction to Literature 8th ED. (U.S. of America: W.W. Norton and Company Inc, 2002), p.1235

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and they cannot make an exception. Women just stay at home to do many of

house jobs, clean the house, take care of their child and husband, and cannot do

many things outside or maybe if they can they work have been put low by men.

Lady Chudleigh dedicated her life to women life, many of her works reveals her

strikingly sentiment of women which describe about suffer, fear, and pressure of

the men. She makes this critique because in the seventeenth and eighteenth

century, patriarchal dominated the world, all of the things managed by men,

everything decided by men, and women just did whatever men asked. Despite of

women realize about their position but, they see that as a natural fate that they

must do without protest.

Here, the writer is interested in analyzing the poems by Lady Mary

Chudleigh. She used significant words with direct ridiculous words to describe

women position in marriage viewed from men’s eyes. She describes the position

of women in marriage is like human who has not sentiment, she said that because

in patriarchal system women cannot do anything in case of being self-dominated

or equal with the men. Her two poems are The Ladies’ Defense and To the Ladies.

The writer choose these poems because these poems described women position

which in early eighteen century it is so rare that women write about women life

and criticize its perspective while the other women’s accept their position as a

second who get different views of men, always manage by men, afraid to change

their life, and only accept their fate.

The first poem is The Ladies’ Defense (1701), Lady Chudleigh describes

about men who turn up their opinion in low viewed and always suggest the

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women as contemptible creature that cannot do anything to strive with or do

something that can change their life. In this framework; "the whole was designed

as a Satyr on Vice," she explains in the preface to Essays, "and, not, as some have

maliciously reported, for an Invective on Marriage.2" The second poem is To the

Ladies (1703), it tells us about the author sight on marriage. According to the

Norton anthology of Literature by women, Lady Chudleigh is not happy in her

marriage.3 Those poems were written in patriarchal system which is managed of

all things that must be done by women. To the ladies is a dramatic monologue

with a theatrical quite distinct from the voice of the author as it appears in the

majority of her other works. It more likes a speech by a character of personal

unhappiness. From these poems, the writer will focus on the image of women that

describe in the two poems with sociological approach, because sociological

approach discuss the extrinsic elements from human and society, and the works

itself can reflect the existence of society and fact in that period.

B. Focus of the Study

According to the background of the study above, the writer focuses on

analyzing the poems with women perspective that portrayed in the poems and get

the fact about women in that period.

C. Research Question

Based on the background of the study and the focus of the study, the writer

will analyze the poems with two questions:

2 Margaret J. M. Ezell, The Poems and Prose of Mary, Lady Chudleigh. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1993), p. xxiii

3 Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar, the Norton anthology of Literature by Women 2nd editions. (U.S. of America: W.W. Norton and Company Inc, 1996), p.161

4

a. How are the women portrayed in each poem?

b. How are the women stereotypes in both of poems?

D. Objective of the Research

The objective of the research is to know the life of women in the

beginning of eighteenth century and get information about women condition. This

research is also to understanding the portraits and stereotypes of English women

using figure of speech.

E. Significance of the Research

The two poems The Ladies’ Defense – one of Melissa’s answer and To the

Ladies are interesting poems, especially for the researcher because these poems

are written by women and described about women life. The writer hopes that the

results of the research can be useful for the readers, can be used as a reference for

understanding the poem, and also can be used to understand the position of

women in that era which is very different with this era.

F. Research Methodology

This research methodology contains of some aspect such as, method of

research, technique of data analysis, instrument of the research, unit analysis, and

time and place of this research.

1. Method of the Research

The method is to examine and gets some answers from the

problems which are presented in the research questions and the writer uses

descriptive qualitative method to analyze the poems. In descriptive

qualitative researches all the compiled data will be analyzed qualitatively

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without using any numerical system. Here, researcher reexamines and

evaluates the data, describing and explaining the data collection.

The writer tries to analyze and give enough understanding about

the data explain the situation and get the fact about the data.

2. Technique of Data Analysis

The writer gets the data from several sources; such as the poems

from The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women 2nd edition, the theory

books of poetry, articles, and online media to support this research. The

data are analyzed descriptively. This research uses several techniques. The

first is to collect the data. The second is to identify the data. The third is to

analyze the data of how the women portrayed in the poems and examined

both of them using kinds of figure of speech.

3. Instrument of the Research

The researcher herself is the main instrument to obtain qualitative

data. The speaker describes about the women, the research uses many

ways, such as by reading the poems many times, collecting data from the

books making notes from the data, finding other data from other sources

like articles, sites, and review, classifying the data, observing, analyzing

the data, writing the result of the analysis, and the last is concluding the

result.

4. Unit Analysis

The unit analysis of the research is the two poems by Lady Mary

Chudleigh entitle The Ladies’ Defense and To the Ladies, bot poems taken

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from The Norton anthology of Literature by Women 2nd Edition that were

published in 1996 by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York.

5. Time and Place of the Research

The research is conducted in seventh semester in 2013. The

materials are taken from some libraries such as; Adab and Humanities

library, UIN Jakarta library, other library, and additional information from

internet that can support this research.

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CHAPTER II

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Previous Research

The writer has found many researches which were related to this research.

Sociological approach was often used by other writer to examine the social

problem in the poem.

The first research was conducted by Ade Agung Syahida, a student of

Islamic State University, Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, in 2009. The research

entitled A Sociological Approach on Langston Hughes poems. This research

discussed about Langston Hughes poems entitled Negro, Cross and I, Too. The

writer attempts to present the poems of Langston Hughes and correlated the

poems to African American life in 1930s in America. The objective of this

research is to know and recognize how the poems reflect the condition of African

American in 1930s. In these poems, Langston Hughes presented about the life of

black people.

The second, the research was conducted by Novia Triyatun, a student of

Diponegoro University, Semarang, in 2012. The research entitled Kondisi

Perempuan yang Terefleksikan dalam Puisi William Blake Earth’s Answer. This

research deals with the situations and conditions happened in England at the end

of the seventeenth century especially about domination of the man over the

woman which was reflected in William Blake’s poem Earth’s Answer. Based on

the fact that there are relations between history and literary. The aim of this

research is to understand the poem of William Blake and its social problem. The

8

writer not only uses the library research method but also structural and

sociological approach. The result of this analysis is that focused on the

domination of the man over the woman that happened in England as the result of

the revolution of industry. This condition became more serious as the result of the

slavery and prostitution of woman.

The third, Nanda Wardhana Manggala Aryaguna, a student of University

of Indonesia, Depok, in 2012. The research entitled Lorelei: Citra Perempuan

dari Sudut Pandang Laki-laki dalam Tiga Puisi Masa Romantik Karya Clemens

Brentano, Otto Heinrich Graf Van Loeben dan Heinrich Heine. This research

analyses the concept of women from male perspective constructed by three male

authors on Romantic period. This concept is based on myth of women in German

society. The result of this research is the author disposed the negative image of

women who have beauty but inflict a financial loss which based on the myth in

Romantic period.

B. Sociology of Literature

Literary work created by author to be enjoyed, understood, and gave

benefit for society. The author itself is a member of society who string by any

social statue. The prime instrument that used in literature is language, which

express the case through the words and the words used is also a product of

society. An approach of literary work that considering literary aspect is called

sociology of literature.

Sociology is a study that examines human in society, the study of social

institutions and processes which try to figure out how society is possible,

9

progresses, and stays. There is the similarities between sociology and literature

which both of them are discussing about human in society, whereas sociology

discusses about human objectively, literature tries to figure out other meaning that

related with views or different perspective about something in society with

feelings and emotions.1

The basic philosophical of sociological approach is the intrinsic

relationship between the literary work and the society. This relationship caused

by: a) literary works produced by authors, b) the author is a member of the society

itself, c) the authors exploit the wealth that exists in the society, and d) the work

was re-utilized by the society. To analyze human in society, sociological approach

starts from understanding the society to sharpen the individuality and assumes that

literary work as a society creature. 2

There are two major studies in the sociological approach of the

literature. First, the approach is based on the assumption that literature is a mere

mirror of social-economic process. This approach moves from social aspects to

discuss about literature itself. For example, a poetry of war will more getting

attention by the people who life in the war country. Second, an approach that

promotes the literary text as a study material. The method used in the sociology of

literature is the analysis of the text to determine its structure, and then be used to

understand more deeply about the social phenomenon that exist out of literature.3

1 Sapardi Djoko Damono, Sosiologi Sastra sebuah pengantar Ringkas ( Jakarta:

Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1984), pp. 6-7 2 Trevor Nobler, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol.27, No.2 (Jun, 1976), p. 221 3 Sapardi Djoko Damono., Op Cit. pp. 6-7

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Such as theory of elements of poetry to discussed about the intrinsic elements of

poem to get the meaning and to know the background of the poem itself.

Literature is an instrument of society that able to communicate, record the

flaming of people and subjugate people’s importance. For example share and

express feeling and emotions through literary work. Literature also have

relationship with people that try to make their self-comfort with the society and

also to change the society with their views as a critique. Through the author’s

ability of his inter subjective who gave the richness of society, he could fill the

work with his ability to make the reader enjoy.

On the other hand, Albrecht ( in Hegtvedt, 1991) explains that there are

three characterizations of relationship between literature and society, such as:

literature reflects society; literature influences society; literature functions to

maintain or justify the social order and in effect exerts social control.4 The

important duty of literary work is be a prisoner of evolution as well as give a

confession about social tendency. For example, the language that used in literary

work is daily language that allows the expansion where the works exist. The

messages of the work can influence the reader or maybe open their mind as

critique and turn their opinion for something that contradicts with the society.

In words, sociology of literature assumed that literature is a mirror of

society although it does not reflect all of the society. Through the literary work

author try to express the problem of life, paring the social issues and involve them

self on it. Certainly, literary works are getting influences from society and it can

4 Karen A. Hegtvedt, A Journal of Teaching Sociology of Literature Through Literature.

(United States : Emory University, 1991), p. 1

11

establish the literary work whether accepted or ignored by the society. so, we can

say that literature is not author’s property but society.

C. The Position of English Women in Marriage (Early Eighteenth

Century)

In many countries, the existence of women is often getting more attention

than men. It is because women have many excesses than men, for example women

can birth children, manage money, take care children, husband, and their family.

Indeed women also can do whatever men do in outside of world. But, all of these

excesses are still getting low view from many people especially for men because

they thought that women is as the complement. The position of women managed

by their father or husband, and the system called patriarchal. According to

Cambridge Dictionary; patriarchy is a society in which the oldest male is the

leader of the family, or a society which is controlled by men, in which they use

their power for their own advantage. Similarly, Sylvia Walby in Theorizing

Patriarchy defines patriarchy as “a system of social structures and practices in

which men dominate, oppress and exploit women.”5

In the beginning of eighteenth century, the position of English women in

marriage was dictated by the patriarchal nature of family relationships, with an

emphasis on the subordination of women. Common law was strongly based in

favor of the husband or father. It was still a fact that a married woman had no

financial rights independent of her husband. In same case, Marx and Eagels

defines that the meaning of patriarchy is production and organization of labor was

5 Mary Murray, The Law Of The Father, Patriarchy in the Transition from Feudalism to

Capitalism. (London and New York : Routledge, 1995), p. 6

12

owned and controlled by the lead of household, rather than a more generalized

system of female subordination and male domination6. Men can ask women to do

everything to make them happy, whatever the way to make it happen. Women

cannot deny or ignore it because in this system women must do everything that

asked by men. The man also had a right to beat his wife, which was, sadly, a

rather common practice.7

The differences of gender placing the men at the top of women, and the

husband's patriarchal role as governor of his family and household — wife,

children, wards, and servants — were assumed to have been instituted by God and

nature.8 Sometimes women who get this situation assumed that their life is for

men, they cannot change their fate although it is full of pain, they still submit their

fate as a naturally from god.

In the same way, marriage is more important social role than nowadays. A

family centered on a married couple represented the basic social, economic, and

political unit. In the Stuart period, a husband’s “rule” over his wife, children and

servants were seen as an analogy to the king’s reign over his people—a

manifestation of a hierarchy constituted by God. A woman was regarded as the

‘weaker vessel’ (a phrase taken from the New Testament)—a creature physically,

intellectually, morally and even spiritually inferior to a man; therefore, the man

had a right to dominate her (Fraser 1981: 1).9

6 Ibid., p.6 7 Alice Brabcová, Theory and Practice in English Studies, vol. 2 (Brno: Masaryk

University, 2004), p. 22 8http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/17century/topic_1/welcome.htm access on June, 06 2014 at 12:31 p.m.

9 Brabcová, Op Cit., p.22

13

In this occasion, unmarried virgins and wives were to maintain silence in

the public sphere and give unstinting obedience to father and husband; even

though widows had some scope for making their own decisions and managing

their affairs. So, being a widow will more valuable than unmarried or wives.

The Law’s Revolution of Women Right’s (1632) explained that women “

have nothing to do in constituting laws, of consenting to them, in interpreting of

laws, or in hearing them interpreted…. and yet they stand strictly tied to men’s

establishments, little or nothing excused by ignorance.”10 The Law's

Resolution was designed to collect the several laws then in place regarding

women's legal rights and duties in each of her three estates: unmarried virgin,

wife, and widow. The unknown author or compiler discusses, sometimes in a

remarkably ironic tone, the many disabilities under which a married woman must

live and the new freedom enjoyed by the widow (who had supposedly lost her

"head" in losing her husband), as well as the vulnerability of all women of all ages

and estates to rape. These discussions illuminate the situation of the widowed

Duchess of Malfi in Webster's play.11

Legal systems in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries explained that

women have different standards of behavior than men and were punished more

severely for departing from those standards. As late as 1770 parliament passed a

statue declaring that “all women of whatever age, rank, profession, or degree,

whatever virgin or maid or widows, that shall from and after such Act impose

upon, seduce, and betray into matrimony any of His Majesty’s subjects by means

10 Sandra Gilbert,), Op Cit., p.73 11 http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/17century/topic_1/welcome.html

access on June, 06 2014 at 12:31 p.m.

14

of scent, paints, cosmetics, washes, artificial teeth, false hair, Spanish wool, iron

stays, hoops, high-heeled shoes, or bolstered hips, shall incur the penalty of the

law now in force against witchcraft and like misdemeanors, and that the marriage

upon conviction shall stand null and void.”12

The misogyny implicit in such a statue also informed laws unrelated to

criminality. Although an unmarried women could own property and a widow was

entitled to a portion of her diseases husband’s estate, a married women thought

out this period could neither own property nor make a will, “for the husband is

entitled to the fruits of his wife’s labor.” By virtue of the judicial concept of the

feme covert (“converted” women), the women’s legal existence was suspended by

marriage, she was theoretically incorporated into the person of her husband, under

whose protection she carried on all her activities. With no right to divorce and no

rights with respect to her own children, she also has no rights over her own body,

for English husbands could imprison wives in their house until 1891.13

Women clearly labored under legal disadvantages, both men and women

in this period gained greater freedom in choosing a marriage partner. To be sure,

in wealthy family marriage was often still settled through treaties, and a number

of women were forced either to marry against their wishes or to wait many years

for their fathers’ consent. But many women were allowed to follow the dictates of

their affection in choosing husband. But, middle- and working- class single

women, wives, and widows lost many of their previously important economic

12 Gilbert, Op Cit. p.75 13 Ibid., p.76

15

roles. For the middle class, in particular, the assumptions that husbands should

support their husbands’ statue by virtue of their leisure.

In short, Marriage was understood to be a central plank in the social order

of early modern England: orderly households (ruled by men) made for an orderly

kingdom. As personal decision, it determined female identity in both legal and

social contexts; for women of all social classes, the ramifications of marital choice

extended into every area of their lives.14 For the vast majority of women and men,

marriage was ‘until death us do part’. Separations, which did not allow

remarriage, were possible but rare; divorce with remarriage was virtually

impossible, at least in law. Death, however, ended marriage as frequently as

divorce does today.

D. Figures of Speech

Every poet has their way to express emotions and feelings into text.

Sometimes, every word that used in the text especially in poetry used language

that has literal or figurative meaning. When we speak literally, we mean exactly

what each word conveys when we use figurative language we mean something

other than the actual meaning of the words.15 For example, someone who said

“you are warm like a sun,” if we understand as ordinary language we think that

she or he has a warm body or if we near with them we can feel their temperature’s

body. But, if we see from literally meaning, the poet said that “you are warm like

a sun” is for expressing about someone who has good attitude, wise or has

14 Patricia Crawford and Laura Cowing, Women’s Worlds in Seventeenth Century

England, A Source Book. (London and New York: Routledge, 2000), p. 169 15 Robert DiYanni, Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, 5th ED. (New York :

McGraww Hill Companies, 2004), p. 709

16

characters like a sun that always give shine for every people around the world to

make people still warm in the coldest weather. Figurative statement that used is a

way to adding extra dimension of language, to enrich meaning and to dig up other

meaning.

Robert Frost ever said that poetry provides the one permissible way of

saying one thing and meaning another.16 In poetry, these figures of speech are

always have big contribution to represent meaning and replace many words into

one word or phrase. Represent something absent and the other way to build an

imaginative perception about the meaning.

In short defines, a figure of speech is any way of saying something other

than the ordinary way, and some rhetoricians have classified that there are 250

different figures of speech.17 But, the writer only discusses about some of them

which give the biggest contribution to get the meaning, understanding the

contains, and how they build the theme of the poem, such as:

a) Simile

Simile is a figure of speech that compares something different to express

the same meaning by using some words or phrases, such as like, as, than,

similar to, resembles, or seems.18 “Your eyes like an apple” this is the

example of simile because it compares the eyes (the attribute of human)

with an apple.

b) Metaphor

16 Laurence Perrine and Thomas R.ARP, An Introduction to Poetry Sound and Sense, 8th

ED. (Southern Methodist University, Harcourt Brace College Publishers: 1992), p. 60 17 Ibid., p.61 18 Ibid., p. 61

17

Robert Frost has echoed Aristotle by suggesting that metaphor is central to

poetry. Like simile, metaphor also compares something but, explicit verbal

clue. The comparison is implied in such a way that the figurative term is

substituted for or identified with the literal one. For example “My

Daughter is an angel” that is the daughter’s angelic attributes are more

extensive in the unspecified and unrestricted metaphor.19

c) Irony

Irony has meaning that extends beyond its use merely as a figure of

speech. There are three kinds of irony, such as:

First, verbal irony that saying the opposite of what one means, it

always implies the opposite of what is said. In more complex form it

means both what is said and the opposite of what is said, at once, through

different ways and with different degrees of emphasis.20

Second, dramatic irony the discrepancy is not between what the

speaker says and what the speaker means but between the speakers says

and what the poem means. This form of irony is more complex than verbal

irony and demands a more complex response from the reader. It may be

used not only to convey attitudes but also to illuminate character, for the

author who uses it is indirectly commenting not only upon the value of the

ideas uttered but also upon the nature of the person who utters them. Such

comment may be harsh, gently mocking, or sympathetic. 21

19 DiYanni, Op Cit., p. 709 20 Ibid., p. 104 21 Ibid., p. 106

18

Third, irony of situation, when a discrepancy exists between the

actual circumstances and those that would seem appropriate or between

what one anticipates and what actually comes to pass. If a man and his

second wife, on the first night of their honeymoon, are accidentally seated

at the theater next to the man’s first wife, we should call the situation

ironic.22

Dramatic irony and irony of situation are powerful devices for poetry, for,

like symbol, they enable a poem to suggest meanings without stating them

– to communicate a great deal more than is said.23

d) Personification

Personification consists in giving the attributes of a human being to

an animal, an object, or a concept. It is really a subtype of metaphor, an

implied comparison in which the figurative term of the comparison is

always a human being.24 For example, when Sylvia Plath makes a mirror

speak and think, she is personifying an object. Personification differs in

the degree to which they ask the reader actually to visualize the literal term

in human form.

e) Symbol

22 Ibid., p. 107 23 Ibid., p. 108 24 Perrine, Op Cit., p. 64

19

Symbolism is a way of describing one thing in terms of another. A symbol

is an object that stands for something beyond itself, a feeling perhaps, or

an abstract idea, or an experience. For example light and darkness can

stand for life and death, knowledge and ignorance, joy and sorrow.25

The meaning of a symbol is controlled by its context. There any limit to

how many symbolic meanings an object, character, or gesture may possess

–even within the context of a single poem. In long poems especially, poets

may shift the meaning of their symbols. To decide the significant of

symbol in poetry is not always an easy matter. Even when we are

confident that something is symbolic, it is nor often easy to determine just

what the symbol represent.26

Symbol is an object or an action which both represents itself and at the

same time has a larger meaning than it ordinarily.27 A symbol may be

roughly defined as something that means more than what it is. The symbol

is the richest and at the same time the most difficult of the poetic figures.

Both its richness and its difficulty result from its imprecision. Although

the pot may pin down the meaning of a symbol is so general in its meaning

that it can suggest a great variety of specific meanings.28

25 DiYanni, Op Cit., P. 35 26 Ibid., p.35 27 Richard Ellman and Robert O’Clair, Modern Poems an Introduction to Poetry (New

York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc, 1976), p. XLIII 28 Perrine, Op Cit., p.80

19

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH FINDINGS

In this chapter, the writer will present the two poems of the research,

identify the image of women and examine the text use figure of speech which has

the biggest contribution to the overall meaning of poems. Both of poems write by

Lady Mary Chudleigh, they are: The Ladies’ Defense (1701) – one of Melissa’s

answers - and To the Ladies (1703).

A. The Portrait of Women in Each Poem

1. The Ladies’ Defense (1701) – one of Mellissa’s answers

From The Ladies’ Defense: Or, a Dialogue Between

Sir John Brute, Sir William Loveall, Melissa, and a Parson (One of Melissa’s answer)

'Tis hard we should be by the men despised, Yet kept from knowing what would make us prized: Debarred from knowledge, banished from the schools, And with the utmost industry bred fools. Laughed out of reason, jested out of sense, 5 And nothing left but native innocence: Then told we are incapable of wit,1 And only for the meanest drudgeries fit: Made slaves to serve their luxury and pride, And with innumerable hardships tried, 10 Till pitying heaven release us from our pain, Kind heaven to whom alone we dare complain. Th' ill-natured world will no compassion show; Such as are wretched, it would still have so: It gratifies its envy and its spite; 15 The most in others miseries take delight. While we are present they some pity spare, And feast us on a thin repast of air: Look grave and sigh, when we our wrongs relate, And in a complement accuse our fate: 20 Blame those to whom we our misfortunes owe,

1 Intelligence. “Native”: innate

20

And all the signs of real friendship show; But when we're absent, we their sport are made, They fan the flame, and our oppressors aid; Join with the stronger, the victorious side, 25 And all our sufferings, all our griefs deride. Those generous few, whom kinder thoughts inspire, And who the happiness of all desire; Who wish we were from barbarous usage free, Exempt from toils, and shameful slavery, 30 Yet let us unreproved, misspend our hours, And to mean purposes employ our nobler powers. They think if we our thoughts can but express, And know but how to work, to dance and dress, It is enough, as much as we should mind, 35 As if we were for nothing else designed, But made, like puppets, to divert mankind. O that my sex would all such toys despise; And only study to be good, and wise: Inspect themselves, and every blemish find, 40 Search all the close recesses of the mind, And leave no vice, no ruling passion there, Nothing to raise a blush, or cause a fear: Their memories with solid notions fill, And let their reason dictate to their will. 45 Instead of novels, histories peruse, And for their guides the wiser ancients choose, Thro' all the labyrinths of learning go, And grow more humble, as they more do know. By doing this, they will respect procure, 50 Silence the men, and lasting fame secure; And to themselves the best companions prove, And neither fear their malice, nor desire their love.

The Ladies’ Defense is a long dialogue poem between Sir John Brute, Sir

William Loveall, Melissa and a Parson (1701, verse). This work is a long dialogue

poem that constitute less a coherent autobiographical chronicle of the events of

the author life than a continuous philosophical exploration of human passions and

21

the ways to live a truly harmonious life, at peace with one's passions2. In this

poem, Lady Chudleigh using a range of genres most popular among Restoration

writers, including the lyric and the ode.3 This poem was created in England when

patriarchal system dominated in every aspect of life. In this poem Melissa as the

speaker explains her emotions and feelings about women position. She uses the

words as her sympathy or statements to describe the sense and shows the cruelty

of men. The speaker implies resistance of women in every line of the text. The

poem itself is divided into 845 lines, but in this research the writer only discusses

one of Melissa’s answers (53 lines) which presented in The Norton Anthology of

Literature by Women 2nd editions. The portrait of women in this poem are

identified and described as follow:

In the beginning of the text, the speaker describes the position of women

who were always in the lowest position of life because men always underestimate

them. It can be seen in the quotation below:

'Tis hard we should be by the men despised, Yet kept from knowing what would make us prized: Debarred from knowledge, banished from the schools, And with the utmost industry bred fools.

(The Ladies’ Defense: 1-4)

In the quotation above, the speaker shows her emotions about women life. The

first line of the poem represents the difficulty of women who always despised by

men. Here, women cannot get an equal position with men because they forbid

women to do what they want. The other lines of the quotation above are the

2Margaret J. M. Ezell, The Poems and Prose of Mary, Lady Chudleigh. (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, Inc., 1993), p. xxiii 3 Ibid,.p. xxiii

22

treatment that must be accepted by women, the speaker implied that men never

see them with valuable view. They also compel women of being fool and

uneducated; they live without knowledge and schools.

In this poem, women are described as creature who do not have chance to

change their fate. Women still despised by men not because they cannot do

something, but because they feel the life where they exist is something that cannot

be changed, and implied that anything they do is nothing for them. Women must

do whatever men ask and they cannot ignore although all of that is full of pain and

suffer. This condition can be seen in the quotation below:

Laughed out of reason, jested out of sense, And nothing left but native innocence: Then told we are incapable of wit,4 And only for the meanest drudgeries fit: Made slaves to serve their luxury and pride, And with innumerable hardships tried, Till pitying heaven release us from our pain, Kind heaven to whom alone we dare complain.


The obedient creature is being the portrait of women in this poem; the confessions

of women in this poem show us the cruelty of men treating women. The speaker

illustrated women like slaves who always serve men luxury and pride. Women

faced their men (father or husband) as a king although men always humiliate

them. The quotation above shows the abjectly obedient of women although they

always get bad treatment from men. They do whatever men asked them to do

although with pain and suffer but without the respect of men even just for small

respect. Melissa as the speaker used metaphor to compared women with slaves; it

4 Intelligence. “Native”: innate

23

stated in the poem that the word “slaves” is to replace the existence of “women.”

According to Concise Oxford English Dictionary the word “slave” is person who

is the legal property of another and it forced to obey them” the definition of that

word implied that women are always forced by men and they must obedient their

men. Women cannot ignore it because in that time, women do not have rights in

constitution. Women are considered as slaves who only can be freed by the

agreement of their master or only by the pitying of heaven like the speaker said in

the eleventh line of the quotation above. In that line, the speaker used an

expression that consists of the attributes of human being, we can call it

personification, figure of speech. Concise Oxford English Dictionary defined a

word pitying is an adjective which has meaning as feeling of sorrow and

compassion caused by the sufferings of other. This eleventh line of poem used the

character of human which has feeling like pity or pitying. From this line, we can

imagine the cruelty of men, because nothing can make them free except the

pitying of heaven, as we know heaven is a place which obtains to someone after

death. So, in this line, the speaker wants to turn up the actual freedom for women

are after death.

`Men are always getting what they want because women are always serves

them. The situation is really ironic with what women feel. When women must be

willing with their pain and suffer to bring men’s desire into reality, the contrary

things do by men precisely. Men are always happy to see women immolation and

always feel that women are never enough to serve them. This ironic situation can

be seen in the quotation below:

24

But when we're absent, we their sport are made, They fan the flame, and our oppressors aid; Join with the stronger, the victorious side, And all our sufferings, all our griefs deride. Those generous few, whom kinder thoughts inspire, And who the happiness of all desire; Who wish we were from barbarous usage free, Exempt from toils, and shameful slavery, Yet let us unreproved, misspend our hours, And to mean purposes employ our nobler powers.


The quotation above implicitly describes the situation of the poem. It interprets

the situation of women that life in the brutality of men. In the 24th line, the speaker

draws the situation that happen, women are always oppressed by men. In the same

time, all of pains of women will bring the happy thing for men. Here, all acted by

women is nothing in men’s eyes, precisely; men built their anger to make women

in the corner with offense. If women make small mistakes, men suggest that as big

mistakes which need to process or judge is. In the 25th line, the speaker makes

contrary action of men, when women still despised by men and it is full of pain

and suffer, men precisely join with the stronger and luxury side. The weaknesses

of women are being the reasons of men to leave and forget women struggle in one

time. They leave women when all of their necessary and desire has been carried

out by women, but they will back to women side if their necessary and desire was

change. The next line is also used irony of situation, figure of speech; in this line,

women said that their oppression is never appreciated by men. All of pain, suffer,

struggle and immolation by women cannot open men’s eyes and being all of the

immolation of women as jokes. They laughed in women suffer and pain, regard

25

their immolation as a bloomer. In addition, these entire ironic situations are really

enjoyed by men and it is really the opposite with what women get in their life.

In the same time, women are never getting appreciation when they exist as

themselves, but they will get appreciation if they can show other shape of them. A

shape that shows their self as human that always submit their men (husband or

father) and have good manner of the men. Women must submit the role of the

men, so if women were rising against and try to do what they want, they will get

negative manner from society because people think they were breaking the rules

or norms of the culture. It gives a space between men and women, the first and the

second, men as important whereas women only like complement. Men does not

only confining the activities of women from knowledge or schools, make women

like slaves, but also restricting women’s idea and expression. It can be seen in the

quotation below:

They think if we our thoughts can but express, And know but how to work, to dance and dress, It is enough, as much as we should mind, As if we were for nothing else designed, But made, like puppets, to divert mankind.


The speaker describes women as smart creature, because they can think all things

based of their mind. But the perspicacity was gone when they cannot express their

mind into the real life. Women in early eighteen century always accept their

culture which only teach them how to work at home, take care of children,

manage money, cook, be a good wife for husband and mother, dance, and dress.

All of this continually culture is also supported by women because women give

themselves passively to men desire without fighting and protest. It is enough for

26

women if they can do many household jobs, it just brings the happiness into their

home.

Actually women can do many things, but men do not permit them to show and

express their mind to bring more valuable things based in their mind. The worst

thing that women get is women are treated by men like puppets. In the thirty

seventh line, the speaker used word “like” which is the feature of simile to

compare and make a similarity between women and puppets. Besides that, Puppet

is also being a symbol of women. According to Concise Oxford English

Dictionary, “Puppet is a movable model of a person or animal, typically moved

either by strings or by a hand inside it, used to entertain.” The speaker used the

word puppets to make same meaning of women and puppet. This symbol can

represent the overall meaning of this poem because the puppet implied women

character and explicitly said that women are always controlled by men. As we

know, the function of puppets is made for entertain human, it is same with what

the poem mean that assumed women are created for men’s life. The creature that

created not to complete men lives but only a complement to entertain their life.

Besides for entertain, the word puppet is also having other definition like a

creature that only can act or do something if someone operates them, asks to do

something or more. It symbolizes women who only do whatever men asked and

always accept it although men have many bad attitudes and bring women into

misery.

In the next lines below, the speaker express their feeling as their complain

of their existence. It can be seen in the text below:

27

O that my sex would all such toys despise; And only study to be good, and wise:


The quotation above is like a bad situation that must face by women, a complaint

about men attitude. Here, the women feel that their existence is like toys who just

be a complement for entertain men’s life. According to Cambridge Dictionary,

toy is an object which is used by an adult for pleasure rather than for serious use.

So they implied that their life is only for entertained of the pleasure and their

existence is like a study to sincere all of the negatives attitudes of men.

Metaphor is also found in another line in this poem, this metaphor used to

make us more understand about the poem that represent something to replace

another meaning that appropriate with the object. In this line below the speaker

used many object like novels and labyrinths. Both of them connect with the word

ancients in second line of this text, to more explanation we can see below:

Instead of novels, histories peruse, And for their guides the wiser ancients choose, Thro' all the labyrinths of learning go, And grow more humble, as they more do know. By doing this, they will respect procure, Silence the men, and lasting fame secure;


Novel is one of literary work that used character inside, to get the deeper

understanding of novel we should read the novel completely, it same with if we

want to understand women we will should know what characters which can build

the happiness of women. Women describes as a novel that have imaginary

characters that hard to understand. In this part of poem, the speaker wants to show

the men about how to treat women. The speaker suggest that men should be a

28

guide to bring women into the brightness of life to freeing them from the ancients

activities like manage house, husband, children, dress, and cook although women

are already know that all of these are the duties of women, but women want to

men more understand them. Make them free from the labyrinth that according to

Concise Cambridge Dictionary, “Labyrinth is a confusing set of connecting

passages or paths in which it is easy to get lost.” This labyrinth reputed by women

as a work that make they bored, an ancients activities that cause they never get

other situation before they leave the labyrinth and always hope the men want to

make them free and left the labyrinth like make an activity outside of home and

can produce their own mind without oppression from their husband.

The desire of women stated in the two lines of the poem, actually women

want to make their self as friends with their husband. Someone who want to share

about everything in life. It can be seen in the text below:

And to themselves the best companions prove, And neither fear their malice, nor desire their love.


The quotation above is contrast with the willingness of women, because in

the text the speaker explains that their men are never regard as their friend, wife or

something special, but only as a complement although they over themselves with

love. In short, this poem implied about the defense of women which never

exposed by men. They want to show that their marriage is because their fear not

because their will or love.

29

2. To the Ladies (1703)

To the Ladies Lady Mary Chudleigh

Wife and servant are the same, But only differ in the name : For when that fatal knot is tried, Which nothing, nothing can divide : When she the word obey has said, 5 And man by law supreme has made, Then all that's kind is laid aside, And nothing left but state and pride : Fierce as an eastern prince he grows, And all his innate rigor shows : 10 Then but to look, to laugh, or speak, Will the nuptial contract break. Like mutes, she signs alone must make, And never any freedom take: But still be governed by a nod, 15 And fear her husband as a God: Him still must serve, him still obey, And nothing act, and nothing say, But what her haughty lord thinks fit, Who with the power, has all the wit. 20 Then shun, oh! shun that wretched state, And all the fawning flatt'rers hate : Value yourselves, and men despise : You must be proud, if you'll be wise.

To the Ladies (1703) is a poem based on the story of unhappy marriage of

Lady Chudleigh.5 This poem created in England when patriarchal system is

dominated every aspect of life. This poem is a monologue poem which describes

about woman position in marriage; the speaker is a woman who explains about

the roles of marriage and a perception about freedom. The speaker implies

5 Sandra M. Gilbert, Susan Gubar, the Norton Anthology of Literature by Women 2nd

editions. (U.S. of America : W.W. Norton and Company Inc, 1996) p.161

30

resistance of women in every line of text poem. The poem consists of 24 lines

which presented in The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women 2nd Edition.

The portraits of women in this poem are identified and described as follow:

In the beginning of the poem, the speaker directly stated about women

position in marriage from negative view. It can be seen in the quotation below:

Wife and servant are the same, But only differ in the name:

(To the Ladies: 1-2)

In the quotation above, the speaker clearly used the metaphorical meaning to

compare the word “wife” and “servant”. According to Concise Oxford English

Dictionary “Servant is a person who performs duties for others especially one

employed in a house to carry out domestic duties or as a personal attendant”. The

wife and servant connected by the word “and,” as we know “and” are conjunction

feature to state two words that have equal position. It suggests the speaker as a

wife but she felt like a servant that serves husband without protest. She also feel

that she is only a servant binder the name of “wife.” The speaker makes the

comparison because in this condition wife should be obedient to her husband. She

does not permit to ignore, she just follow what her husband ask.

In the next line of poem, the speaker implicitly said that marriage is hard

decision and it can be the wrong decision because in this time a wife does not has

financial rights and everything is controlled by men. It can be seen in the

quotation below:

For when that fatal knot is tried, Which nothing, nothing can divide : When she the word obey has said, And man by law supreme has made,

31

Then all that's kind is laid aside, And nothing left but state and pride :


The first line of the quotation above shows us the beginning of women life after

marriage. The speaker said that marriage is a fatal knot, Cambridge Learner

Dictionary defined “Fatal is something that refers to an accident, illness, or a

death”. Fatal is also having negative meaning which is really harmful. Inferring

that, it is the knot of death to women’s spirit and soul. The speaker represents the

marriage as “a fatal decision.” It is really different with women assumption in

general. Women confront that marriage is a something new, a new beginning of

life which full of the happiness and peace. In the 5th line, we found the word

“obey” in this poem that word getting an emphasize meaning because the author

used italic letter. The word “obey” can symbolize the obligation of a wife. In this

time, women in marriage should give her loyalty as the obligation to her husband

as long as she lives. Nothing acted, nothing said, she only does whatever her

husband asked because to strive with their husband is a shame action and that

activity forbidden by the constitution of marriage.

The speaker not only compares women with servant, but, in this poem the

speaker also compare the men with eastern prince, used the feature of simile ‘as.’

Both of that word implied something that has big power in life. That condition can

be seen in the quotation below:

Fierce as an eastern prince he grows, And all his innate rigor shows:


32

The speaker compares men with the Fierce Prince of eastern. This phrase stated

someone who live likes a prince from Middle East. We can imagine the prince

who lives in the desert with hot weather; he has gruff characters and reputation of

being haughty, proud, and domineering. Therefore, the wife has no position of

authority, her only task is to serve husband without saying her disagreement.

The next comparison of men in this poem is the speaker compares the

word men with God. According to Concise Cambridge Dictionary, “God is (in

especially Christian, Jewish and Muslim belief) the being which made the

universe, the Earth and its people and is believed to have an effect on all things.”

The comparison can be seen in the quotation below:

But still be governed by a nod, And fear her husband as a God:


People can never change their fate, except God. This case is similar with a wife

who cannot change her life because everything decided by her husband. Wife is

only being passive and submits to the fate. She only accepts and follows her fate

from their husband (a God in home) and turned out their spirit and mind by a nod

to symbolize the acceptance of women. She makes a nod because she cannot do

and say anything except move her head down and up to show her obedient.

All of pain and suffer by the speaker never freed by something, in the

following quotation below, the speaker said that her obedience never end if they

were still in marriage proposal, it will end only with the divorce.

Will the nuptial contract break. Like mutes, she signs alone must make, And never any freedom take:


33

Although the divorce makes them free from men domination, being widows in not

exact decision to take because in this period the widows will lost many of their

important economic roles. In this condition, the speaker implicitly said that only a

single woman who truly gets the freedom. The quotation below had drawn that

condition:

Then shun, oh! shun that wretched state, And all the fawning flatt'rers hate :


In the quotation above there are double words of the “shun.” The definition of

shun according to Concise Cambridge English Dictionary is to avoid something,

to ignore someone and not speak to them because you cannot accept their

behavior, beliefs, etc. The speaker used repetition to emphasize that marriage

should be avoided by woman because in a marriage women never get the truly

freedom, only in the lowest position like a servant and the speaker also said that a

marriage is just bringing women into miseries that cannot be released with

everything include the divorce. In the second last line of the poem, the speaker

tells that:

Value yourselves, and men despise: You must be proud, if you'll be wise.


In the text above, the speaker suggest what women should do to release them from

suffer and pain of marriage. Actually the existence of men is same with women;

who need someone to complete their life. A marriage sheaf is not only a

relationship between women and men, but there also an understanding to bring a

perfect marriage. Putting a wife and husband as a partner to improve mistake and

34

join to the truth. In the last word, to get the meaning of marriage, women should

break men’s view, not to make the equal position, but to appreciate themselves as

wisdom. It exactly assumed that women should be more powerful to fight bad

attitudes of men.

B. The Stereotype of Women in Both Poems The Ladies’ Defense and To

the Ladies

Lady Chudleigh the author of these poems tries to show women condition

in England when men dominated every aspect of life in the early eighteenth

century, as the explanation above women rights and property are in men hand. In

the same time, The Law’s Revolution of Women Right’s (1632) explained that

women “ have nothing to do in constituting laws, of consenting to them, in

interpreting of laws, or in hearing them interpreted…. and yet they stand strictly

tied to men’s establishments, little or nothing excused by ignorance.”6 Men are

the owner of many things that women have such as ideas or actions. All of women

activities are controlled by men as the head of household. This problem implicitly

described in the text poem.

Lady Chudleigh used many comparison symbols or things to compare men

or women with something which have same characteristic or meaning. Both of

these poems consist of the pressure of women. Here, Women get the negative

perception from men. Through this poem, the author also criticized about men’s

attitude. Men described as an important thing while women just a complement. It

makes a distant between the first and the second.

6 Sandra Gilbert, Susan Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women 2nd

editions. (U.S. of America: W.W. Norton and Company Inc, 1996) p.73

35

The stereotype of women’s life in these poems directly said by the speaker

and sometimes she makes a comparison with something to get the same meaning.

According to concise Cambridge Dictionary, “stereotype is a fixed idea that

people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is

wrong.”

In the beginning of the first poem (The Ladies’ Defense), the speaker

directly said it really hard to be women in that era because women are always in

the lowest position and men dominate all aspect of life. The existences of women

are only complement for men’s life, the latest position after all things. The

existence of women in this poem represents by the word “slaves” it can be seen in

the quotation below:

Made slaves to serve their luxury and pride, (The Ladies’ Defense: 9)

The word “slaves” show us the cruelty of men. Men do not treat women

like wives but slaves that full of pain and suffer to serve all their luxury and pride.

Besides comparing the women with the slaves, the speaker also makes a similarity

between women and puppets. It can be seen in the quotation below:

But made, like puppets, to divert mankind. (The Ladies’ Defense: 37)

Women as passive creature not because they do not want to ignore, nor

there is not the contrary mind with men but because of all their action, mind and

expression are controlled by men. Everything that women should do to make them

free is always getting the negative stigma from society. The culture, norm,

constitution of patriarchal system avoid them to protest their men.

36

The next stereotype that speaker explain is the sex of women as

entertainment. It can be seen in the quotation below:

O that my sex would all such toys despised; (The Ladies’ Defense: 37)

The quotation above is like a bad situation that must face by women, a complaint

about men attitude. All of this implied women in the negative side, the weakness

creature who perforce to enjoy their existence although just in silence.

Similar with the first poem, The Ladies’ Defense, this second poem To the

Ladies is also used some comparison to represent other things or clarified the

word itself. In the beginning of the second poem, the speaker directly said that the

differences between wife and servant are only in the name, it can be seen in the

quotation below:

Wife and servant are the same, But only differ in the name :


If in the first poem the speaker used the words slaves, puppets, and toy

despised, in the second poem she used the word servant to represent the existence

of women, the words that used by the speaker to represent the image of women

are something that controlled by their master (father, husband, or men), they never

make a movement without men’s command or permission.

As the previous discussion, men are described as human that control all of

women ideas and activities, the stronger sides while other things just a

complement. In this second poem, the speaker also represents the existence of

men which always has biggest and highest contribution or control to someone

lives. Like in the 9th line of the poem, it can be seen below:

37

Fierce as an eastern prince he grows, And all his innate rigor shows:


In that line above, the speaker turn up the men as an eastern prince who

grow for their people. The prince who has the biggest control of his people. From

this word, the speaker makes a parable which men as the prince and women as his

populace. And draw that woman as people should give their loyalty to their

husband. Similarly of that, the speaker also represents the word God to compare

with the existence of men. It can be seen in the quotation below:

But still be governed by a nod, And fear her husband as a God:


The speaker implied that women threat their men as God. They cannot do or

change anything like fate without their men’s permission; they just do all things

without protest.

To conclude, both poems described women conditions as given by society

which women have no power to change. Although women realize those conditions

are unequal, the patriarchal system of England in early eighteenth century prevent

women to articulate their feelings. As a result women can only accept the

conditions. Those poems also implicitly said that there is no love in marriage or

women and men relationship, but there is only anxious feeling.

38

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions

The Ladies’ Defense (1701) and To the Ladies (1703) are poems that

created by Lady Mary Chudleigh in England when patriarchal system is

dominated every aspect of life. Both of these poems attempt to presents the

sociological aspects that tell us about women condition who are always be the

inferior. The writer describes and analyzes the poems by examine the figure of

speech that give the biggest contribution of the whole meaning of poem. The

purpose to know the women portrait in each poem and the women stereotypes in

both of poems.

From the first poem, The Ladies’ Defense, Melissa as the speaker explains

her emotions and feelings about women position. She uses the words as her

sympathy or statements to describe the sense and shows the cruelty of men. The

writer finds some of women portrait. First, the position of women who always in

the lowest position of life because men always underestimate them. Second,

women are described as creature that do not have chance to change their fate.

Third, women are never get appreciation when they exist as themselves, but they

will get appreciation if they can show other side that show their self as human that

always submit their men (husband or father) and have good manner of the men.

And the last is women must be willing with their pain and suffer to bring men’s

desire into reality.

39

Similar with the first poem, the second poem, To the Ladies is discussed

about women position, but in this poem the author focuses about the women

position on marriage. The speaker is a woman who explains about the roles of

marriage and makes a perception about freedom. There are some portraits of

women in this poem that present by the speaker. First, in the beginning of poem,

the speaker compares wife and servant to describe the position of a wife. In this

condition wife should be obedient to her husband. She does not permit to ignore,

she just follow what her husband ask. Second, the speaker implicitly said that

marriage is hard decision and it can be the wrong decision because in this time a

wife does not has financial rights and every things are controlled by men. Third,

women always in the lowest while men in the highest position. This condition

show when the speaker compares the men with eastern prince. Fourth, the speaker

also makes a comparison between men and God, here, wife only being passive

and submits to the fate.

The stereotypes of women’s life in these poems directly said by the

speaker and sometimes she makes a comparison with something to get the same

meaning, such as, the domination of men makes women as complement for men’s

life, women as passive creature, and women as entertainment. In addition, both of

poems present the inferiorities of women and the superiorities of men.

40

B. Suggestions

In analyzing poem, the researcher should use the appropriate theory to

have the maximal comprehension of the poem itself. The writer suggest that there

are other researcher who wants to analyze this poem using another theory which

can gives different things, such as using physiological approach. Then, the other

researcher can explore more about these poems to get the best analysis of the

implied meaning in these poems.

41

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the ladies’ defense and to the ladies

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