For My Lover, Returning To His Wife Flashcards
How does the speaker in the poem contrast to Edna in the novel?
The speaker recognises that she can’t be with her lover and that he needs to return to his wife, whereas Edna thinks that she needs to be with Robert because she believes she needs to make a change from the typical norms of society.
Does the way the speaker describes herself relate to Edna too?
“I am a watercolour”
Yes, this is because Edna is willing to leave her whole life behind, she created a life and a family with her husband when she left her family to marry. However, to her this is all disposable as she chooses to be free within death.
The wife in the poem is similar to Edna in a few ways;
- she puts up with her husband even though they don’t have the best relationship
- she has had children with her husband and cares for them
Edna also puts up with Leonce’s behaviour such as when he comes back drunk and wakes up Edna when there was no need for it.
Edna has also had children and cares for them without too much help from her husband. Although she is not so typical of women who care for their children and she lets them have the freedom that she wishes for herself.
What is the focus of the poem?
The decision of whether to let the speakers affair go and allow him to go back to his wife as the speaker believes she is not as good as his wife so it’s only fair to let him go.
What do the lovers have in common?
Both the speaker of the poem and Robert recognise that the affairs will not last as the marriages will, they both encourage the lovers to go back to their lives within their marriages.
“Goodbye, because I love you”
What is the significance of the power of lust and love?
Love always transcends lust as it is more powerful.
