Comparing 'A River-Merchant's Lover And To The Ladies'

Marriage is an incredible bond between two people who have chosen to love each other for not only their perfections but also all for their imperfections. Love is a choose and marriage should also be a choose, but love is also a feeling and two people should feel that together they can become one. Marriage is meant to last forever, not just until one is tired of trying. The poems in the chapter describe different types and stages of love and marriage. “How Do I Love Thee,” “The Tally Stick,” and “To My Dear and Loving Husband” are the poems that reinforce how a marriage should be. On the other hand “A River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter” and “To the Ladies” are poems that challenge the way a marriage should be. “How Do I Love Thee” is about a woman
In the poem “A River- Merchant’s Wife: A Letter,” a fourteen year old girl is forced to marry a childhood friend. Even though she eventually begins to love and miss her husband, she was still forced to marry this man at this young age. “To the Ladies,” gives the speaker's opinion on marriage and how she believes it is. She says once a woman is married, she becomes a servant to her husband. She says marriage is when a couple ties the “fatal knot.” Once they are married, the wife must obey her husband and after a while the husband begins to treat her badly. The speaker then goes on to describe what it is like to be a new wife. She says the wife is not able to speak, is no longer able to freely speak her mind, and her freedom is taken from her. The poem ends with the speaker saying how woman should do whatever they can to avoid marriage and happiness is from being proud, wise, and single. Marriage is not as the speaker describes at all. She says that all marriages are unhappy, but not every marriage is like that. Not every marriage is male dominant and does not allow the woman to do as she please. Marriages are supposed to be filled with love and happiness, not