Comparing "From the House of Yemanja" and "The Bistro Styx"
Lyndsay Woolridge
Mr. J. Godbout
ENG3UY
March 7, 2010.
Falling Short of Perfection “From the House of Yemanjà” by Audre Lorde and “The Bistro Styx” by Rita Dove share the common theme of daughters falling short of their mother’s expectations. Though the poems have obvious differences, both successfully convey the theme from two opposing perspectives. Each perspective expresses the theme using a first person point of view, though in “The Bistro Styx,” the poem is narrated by a mother. It communicates a strong maternal concern and a sense of exasperated disappointment, while “From the House of Yemanjà” is written from a daughter’s perspective and lacks the same tenderness. If children feel inadequate in their parents’ eyes, I believe that they would sooner become resentful than depressed as a result of their frustration. In addition, I believe that a mother would not as easily resent her child, and that her disappointment would evoke sorrow instead of bitterness. It is because of the powerful feelings of woeful disgrace as conveyed by a mother that I find “The Bistro Styx” to better allow the reader to understand the theme of failing to live up to parents’ expectations. There are direct allusions in both poems that must first be fully understood in order to grasp the meaning of each poem’s message. Firstly, the name “Yemanjà” of “From the House of Yemanjà” is an allusion to the mother deity of all gods and goddesses of the Yoruba peoples of Western Nigeria. It is said that rivers flowed from her breasts, and in Brazilian religions, Yemanjà is known as the “Queen of the Ocean” and patron deity of survivors of shipwrecks. Both interpretations of Yemanjà are referenced within the poem, beginning with how the narrator relates her mother to the deity. She speaks of her mother as though she fears her when she says that her mother “brings [her] bread and terror,” yet implies that her mother is still somehow comforting. Since Yemanjà is the patron deity of
Mr. J. Godbout
ENG3UY
March 7, 2010.
Falling Short of Perfection “From the House of Yemanjà” by Audre Lorde and “The Bistro Styx” by Rita Dove share the common theme of daughters falling short of their mother’s expectations. Though the poems have obvious differences, both successfully convey the theme from two opposing perspectives. Each perspective expresses the theme using a first person point of view, though in “The Bistro Styx,” the poem is narrated by a mother. It communicates a strong maternal concern and a sense of exasperated disappointment, while “From the House of Yemanjà” is written from a daughter’s perspective and lacks the same tenderness. If children feel inadequate in their parents’ eyes, I believe that they would sooner become resentful than depressed as a result of their frustration. In addition, I believe that a mother would not as easily resent her child, and that her disappointment would evoke sorrow instead of bitterness. It is because of the powerful feelings of woeful disgrace as conveyed by a mother that I find “The Bistro Styx” to better allow the reader to understand the theme of failing to live up to parents’ expectations. There are direct allusions in both poems that must first be fully understood in order to grasp the meaning of each poem’s message. Firstly, the name “Yemanjà” of “From the House of Yemanjà” is an allusion to the mother deity of all gods and goddesses of the Yoruba peoples of Western Nigeria. It is said that rivers flowed from her breasts, and in Brazilian religions, Yemanjà is known as the “Queen of the Ocean” and patron deity of survivors of shipwrecks. Both interpretations of Yemanjà are referenced within the poem, beginning with how the narrator relates her mother to the deity. She speaks of her mother as though she fears her when she says that her mother “brings [her] bread and terror,” yet implies that her mother is still somehow comforting. Since Yemanjà is the patron deity of