For decades women have used literature as a way of expressing their feelings on the inequality and unfair expectations imposed on them by society. Through novels, essays, poems and other literary works, female writers were able to convey the sentiments of countless other women at a time when they were unable to voice their opinions. One such writer who found literature as an outlet to speak up for women’s rights was Margaret Atwood. Atwood is a well-known novelist and poet whose writing explores women’s issues as is clearly evident in her poem “Spelling.” In “Spelling,” Atwood describes the silencing of women in all walks of life. Her poem depicts the victimization and vulnerability of women without language. In this essay, I will provide a brief summary of Margaret Atwood’s “Spelling.” I will then discuss Atwood’s message that words and language have the ability to empower women and how she conveys this message through the use of certain poetic elements and properties.
The poem “Spelling” begins with the speaker describing her daughter playing with letters and learning to spell. This image introduces the feminist theme and sets the tone for the remainder of the poem. Atwood then takes the reader through a history of persecution and helplessness with references to women being branded as witches and the tying of their legs to prevent childbirth. The solution she offers lies in the power of words and language. By expressing themselves through writing, women have a voice which cannot be suppressed.
In the eight stanzas of “Spelling,” Atwood, as the speaker of the poem, successfully expresses her views on women’s need for writing as a medium of making their opinions heard and to be treated equally. In the opening stanza Atwood writes, “learning how to spell / spelling / how to make spells.” The use of the word ‘spells’ refers not only to making spells for mystical and supernatural purposes, but also the power that words can have. The ability to spell and to use the power of language was once denied to women because it was a common belief that they had no use for literacy. The technique of repetition was used in the first stanza to emphasize the different meanings of the word ‘spell’. In the next stanza she expresses her curiosity about the women who had to give up their roles as mothers so that they can write. “Closed themselves in rooms / drew curtains / so they could mainline words,” she states. She creates the image of women having to hide in their homes to fulfill their desire to write. The word ‘mainline’ in the last line of the stanza is symbolic for writing. It suggests that writing is similar to an addiction to drugs. She then goes on to write, “A child is not a poem / a poem is not a child / there is no either/or.” She claims that a woman who desires to write should not have to choose between her traditional role as a mother and that of a writer. She should be allowed to assume both roles. The stanza ends abruptly with the word “However,” suggesting that this is not the case in reality. Historically, women have been forced into the roles of mother and wife and silenced by their male counterparts. She then provides examples of women who were silenced in the next two stanzas. Atwood refers to a witch whose mouth is covered to prevent her from speaking. This image draws on the opening stanza’s reference to making spells and the figurative and literal meanings of it. She states, “Ancestress: the burning witch.” According to a review of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale from the internet website www.nytimes.com, one of Atwood’s ancestors by the name of Mary Webster was put on trial for being a witch. The first line in the fifth stanza is a clear allusion to her historical connection. In the last three lines of “Spelling” Atwood writes, “Your own name first / your first naming, your first name / your first word.” Repetition was used once again to emphasize the importance for women, whom she is speaking to, to have their own identities. By giving a name to something we give it a certain individuality and distinctiveness. Similarly, a woman with her own identity means that she is not the possession of anyone. The power of her words gives her the ability to freely speak her mind.
Margaret Atwood’s “Spelling” can be interpreted in different ways based on the reader’s individual perspective. However, it’s theme of female empowerment through the use of words is definite and cannot be ignored. As Jonathan Culler wrote in Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, “The interpretation of poems depends not just on the convention of unity but also on the convention of significance: the rule is that poems, however slight in appearance, are supposed to be about something important” (Culler 80). Atwood’s “Spelling” may seem simple and insignificant in appearance, but her feminist message is of great importance. It is a message than transcends time and travels beyond the man-made barriers of race, religion and even gender.
Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. “Spelling.”
Culler, Johnathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
