Although certain elements of “Alonzo the Brave, and Fair
Imogene” can be interpreted as sexist—Imogene certainly is portrayed as shallow
and materialistic, and in turn she is eternally punished for forgetting about
the man who leaves her first—I cannot help but interpret this work as more a
commentary on the importance of adhering to one’s word. Imogene is the one who
so dramatically defends herself against Alonzo’s suspicions that she will soon
love and marry another; in fact, the tone in which Alonzo mentions this
scenario is not accusatory and demanding, but rather fearful. In response,
Imogene creates her own promise and even formulates the exact punishment with
which she is eventually charged. Imogene breaks her personal promise—not one
she was coerced into making—and is thus greeted with the very circumstances she
once wished upon herself. Her fate is less the product of a sexist society
(which no one can deny was the contemporary environment) and more the result of
her failure to do as she swore she would do. This poem was inarguably composed
in a time when women received less credit than men for all their thoughts and
actions, but Imogene crafted her own agreement.
And It’s not sexist to be held to one’s own agreement, is
it?
While I agree that this is a very interesting technique by the author, to have Imogene make the promise herself, I believe that this only adds to the very sexist message of these poems. It seems as if the author is using Imogene as a warning to women saying that women should never try to make ultimatums on men because they are always fickle and deserve to be punished. Her failure to do what she swore she would do, in such a short amount of time, emphasizes the author's negative opinion of women.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of the arguments above. On the one hand, I appreciate Miranda's consideration of Imogen as perhaps an antagonistic character, in that she is fickle, lured by earthly goods, and unfaithful to her commitments. However, I agree with katie's point that three exists a double standard for women and their need to conscribe to their societal roles. If it were Alonzo to break his vow, I can only surmise that he would have met a much more agreeable fate.
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