The Mill Poem Analysis

Working has become part of the norm in today’s society for both men and women in the American culture. People waste so much of their life and time in their occupation, that it seems that is the only part of their life that is significant. Jobs revolve around the world and people are so caught up within them. Human beings are turning away from love and family, focusing on their work and not human life that is meant to be spent with loved ones. This theme of work over family has become a major issue and theme within a few poems. This idea of choosing work over life is evident within the poems “The Mill” by Edwin Arlington Robinson and “The Secretary Chant” by Marge Piercy. Both of these poems discover what working is to that individual and how
She arrives at the mill and finds her husband “hanging from the beam.” He had hanged himself in the place where he had worked. The miller’s wife, for unclear reasons, drowns herself. She commits suicide and the poem concludes with the description of her death—which seems peaceful and almost sleep like with the beautiful descriptions Robinson provided. “Black water, smooth above the weir / Like starry velvet in the night, / Though ruffled once, would soon appear / The same as ever to the sight” (Robinson 149-149).
The characters in “The Mill” seem complex to the sense that they do not have names to identify themselves. Names are known as something personal, especially with names having a special meaning. However, these characters do not have that. As mentioned before, they are only addressed by their occupation. The man in the poem is identified as “the miller” and the woman in the poem as “the miller’s wife.” Now, in today’s norm, being a wife is not an occupation; however, in the time period that this poem was written, it certainly
They seem to live in this repetitive world where the miller does his job and the wife does hers. The miller goes to the mill and works long hours and the wife stays home, cleaning the house and cooking dinner. From the lack of communication, it just gives this idea and feel that their roles/occupation are what keeps the world revolving. Nevertheless, their jobs continue to separate them and they stay divided because of that.
However, the idea of their occupation seems shattered when the miller reveals to his wife that “there are no millers anymore.” The miller obviously cares for his job and the scarcity of millers provide the idea that the miller may no longer be a miller anymore. Perhaps the miller thinks that he is no longer a miller, then he will no longer be anything. Possibly, he believes that he will lose himself. This could be the reason why the miller would commit suicide in the first place