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  • A Work of Artifice

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    The poem "A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy is about the oppression of women in a patriarchal society. It uses the metaphor of bonsai trees, which are potted plants that are pruned and constrained to remain small, to represent how women are conditioned from a young age to accept limited gender roles. They are taught that it is their nature to be weak, domestic, and confined to the household. Just as bonsai trees could have grown tall in nature but are deliberately constrained, the poem suggests that women have their potential and independence constrained by social norms.

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    The poem "A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy is about the oppression of women in a patriarchal society. It uses the metaphor of bonsai trees, which are potted plants that are pruned and constrained to remain small, to represent how women are conditioned from a young age to accept limited gender roles. They are taught that it is their nature to be weak, domestic, and confined to the household. Just as bonsai trees could have grown tall in nature but are deliberately constrained, the poem suggests that women have their potential and independence constrained by social norms.

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    7K views3 pages

    A Work of Artifice

    Uploaded by

    Damian Fernandes
    The poem "A Work of Artifice" by Marge Piercy is about the oppression of women in a patriarchal society. It uses the metaphor of bonsai trees, which are potted plants that are pruned and constrained to remain small, to represent how women are conditioned from a young age to accept limited gender roles. They are taught that it is their nature to be weak, domestic, and confined to the household. Just as bonsai trees could have grown tall in nature but are deliberately constrained, the poem suggests that women have their potential and independence constrained by social norms.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    A Work of Artifice by Marge Piercy:

    Summary and Analysis


    A work of artifice by Marge Piercy is about the social limitations of women. She
    shows how women are conditioned to live a limited life. The poem's central theme is
    the oppression of women. She compares the lives of women in society with bonsai's.
    The work speaks against the patriarchal system followed in most societies. The world
    has grown modern but those ancient customs still stop women from living a full and
    happy life. They are bound to live like caged birds.

    The bonsai tree in the poem is a potent symbol and represents several things. It
    represents the oppression of women, their inability to grow and how society has kept
    them tied to ancient customs. This hold of social customs on women is so strong that
    releasing them will require fierce force and empowerment. These enclosures have
    kept women from achieving their potential. The women have traditionally played
    only secondary roles in a patriarchal society. Not many centuries ago, they were not
    given opportunities to learn, educate themselves or grow as they have today. In this
    regard, Marge Piercy’s work strikes at the root of gender inequality prevalent in a
    male dominated world. However, the poem speaks more about the psychological
    degeneration that happens due to the clipping of wings. One notable feature of the
    poem is its use of free verse.

    In the patriarchal system, they could only be mothers, housewives and child bearers.
    The title of the poem is sarcastic and the poem targets the chains that bind women.
    It deals with the biggest irony in a woman's life. Artifice means cunning devices used
    for deception. The poem explains how the women are deceptively made to lead
    limited lives. The society deceives them of their liberty, clips their wings and keeps
    them inside cages to prevent them from flying. Most plausible explanation for this
    phenomenon is that their freedom becomes a challenge for the dominant male
    mindset prevalent in the society. However, it also suggests the moral degradation of
    this male dominated society which has always looked at women as inferior objects
    meant only for decoration.

    "The bonsai tree in the attractive potcould have grown eighty feet tallon the side of a
    mountaintill split by lightning. But a gardenercarefully pruned it. It is nine inches high."

    Apart from everything they were considered materials for interior decoration like the
    bonsai trees are. Bonsais are good for decoration but they are still Bonsais that could
    have grown into strong trees. Why has the poet chosen the metaphor of a bonsai
    tree? Bonsai means a loss of growth and freedom. It also implies meaninglessness
    and life without space to grow. The poet questions of women are just materials of
    interior decoration. Women were expected to remain confined to the interiors and
    do the household tasks. They were expected to understand their limits and remain
    tightly tied to their responsibilities or their roots. A bonsai tree’s roots and branches
    are pruned and tightly tied so it does not grow to its real size.  The bondage used to
    keep the bonsai from growing is also found in women’s lives. Bonsai’s are miniature
    plants that do not need much watering and care. The women were also expected to
    love others but not expect care in return. A plant that could grow to become 90 feet
    tall, remained nine inches high.

    "Every day as he whittles back the branchesthe gardener croons,It is your nature to be
    small and cozy, domestic and weak;how lucky, little tree,to have a pot to grow in."

    The women were conditioned to live according to the customs and traditions. They
    were expected to feel good about the roles assigned to them. The gardener is a
    metaphor for the society and the male members of the family. It sets the rules for the
    plant. Every girl child is conditioned to understand the rules her society has set for
    her.  She is taught to feel cozy in the small space assigned to her and to be her
    husband’s shadow and act and feel like his servant. Wild women were not considered
    civilized and so had to be domesticated at a tender age. A girl’s society was not very
    large and in most cases limited to her family. It began from her father's home and
    ended at her husband’s. The nature of a tree is to grow large but so it can be turned
    into an object of interior decoration, it is tied down and trimmed. These girls are also
    conditioned in a similar manner. Their wings are clipped so they cannot think of
    flying and can stay satisfied with their fate. Fundamentally, the poem is about gender
    bias and the resulting inequality which has always kept women from living their lives
    to the fullest.

    "With living creatures one must begin very early to dwarf their growth: the bound feet,
    the crippled brain,the hair in curlers,the hands youlove to touch."

    Does the society fear that someday its women would revolt?  The gardener is happy
    at what he is doing without thinking what injustice he has done to the plant. It could
    have grown 90 feet high by some hill’s side and kissed the clouds that float above.
    The gardener keeps its feet bound so it does not raise its head too high. The brain is
    crippled so it does not develop independent thoughts and start thinking of leaving
    its confines. The society has worshipped them as goddesses but also turned them
    into objects of beauty and love, who decorate the household and are bound by
    traditions. However, this trimming down or what the society considers appropriate
    conditioning for women begins at a tender age since once they have grown up, they
    may grow resistant against the social norms and try to fly above and beyond the
    walls stopping them. The poem records the pain in every woman’s life. Women are
    asking for more space and freedom to breath free.

    Rhyming scheme: The poem is written in free verse or does not have a fixed rhyming
    scheme. However, that is effective at amplifying the meaning and tone of the poem.
    Meanings

    1. Bonsai – a tree or shrub that has been dwarfed, as by pruning the roots and
    pinching back the shoots, and is grown in a pot or other container and trained
    to produce a desired shape or effect.
    2. Pruned - trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead
    or overgrown branches or stems, especially to encourage growth.
    3. Whittles - reduce something in size, amount, or extent by a gradual series of
    steps.
    4. Dwarfed - stunted in growth or development.
    5. Bound feet – refers to an old Chinese custom where feet of young girls were
    bound to prevent further growth, considered as a painful and restrictive
    practice
    6. Crippled – Someone unable to use one or more parts of the body properly
    7. Curlers – small rollers used to curl a person’s hair.

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