"The Bride of the Greek Isle"

Similar to “The Wife of Asdrubal,” this work too also represents women in a masculine way – taking control and taking powerful action. What I found most interesting was the ordering of the bride’s characterization in this work. She starts off stereotypical. She is leaving her family in what is described and references as a normal ritual before a wedding. She is emotional and feminine in these pastoral and Romantic descriptions. As I read these, I was in fact waiting for Hemans to shift. Surely enough, the bride becomes impassioned and takes control of the situation, abandoning her female roles (especially her wedding). What is interesting is that in order to become the masculine, powerful character, she abandons her family and her future husband. After both are taken from her and she is separated, she then can become a dominate character. I think this is the bleeding through of Hemans beliefs, perhaps that it is cookie-cutter roles that women are expected to fulfill that prohibit them from becoming something more. Women are expected to be perfect daughters and obedient wives, but this poem exposes the further potential once those roles are eliminated.