Q8: Rewriting the phallocentric history and culture in Carol Ann Duffy's "The World's Wife" (refer to the idea of the whole book +3-4 poems as examples + Vujin's critical article)

Question 1

What are the objects of Duffy’s collection “The World’s Wife”?

Answer 1

• well-known female figures

- fictional counterparts to well-known male figures

Question 2

What is the focus of Duffy’s collection?

Answer 2

• the complexities of gender relations
• the roles of women
  the ill treatment of women through fictional, biblical, mythical, and historical contexts

Question 3

What is the aim of “The World’s Wife”?

Answer 3

• to connect the different settings together into a cohesive collection
• to highlight how the ill treatment towards women has endured through all the different contexts and into the modern era
• to subvert the classical traditions of the male (voyeur) poet and female muse
• turn the focus of female characters who are telling their own side of the story
• to emphasize the wrongness of the literary/artistic expectations and conventions for women

Question 4

What is the form of Duffy’s poems in “The World’s Wife”?

Answer 4

• (often) monologues using conversational language (accessible for average readers)
• HYBRID in form: authority of the ballad and the (supposed) historical importance of the topic

Question 5

What themes does Duffy touch upon in “The World’s Wife”?

Answer 5

• unheard perspective of female counterparts of famously known male figures
• issues surrounding marriage, sex, love, motherhood, typical roles of women

Question 6

What idea does the title “The World’s Wife” convey?

Answer 6

• it is still a man’s world

- women are still understood/described in relation to men (women are not themselves but “wives” of sb else)

Question 7

What is Vujin’s argument about the writing intention of contemporary women authors?

Answer 7

They deconstruct mythology in order to reconstruct poetic expression and cultural landscape (they give voice to the previously silent characters)