Living In Sin Analysis

She had thought the studio would keep itself;
no dust upon the furniture of love.
Half heresy, to wish the taps less vocal,
the panes relieved of grime. A plate of pears,
a piano with a Persian shawl, a cat
stalking the picturesque amusing mouse
had risen at his urging.
Not that at five each separate stair would writhe
under the milkman's tramp; that morning light
so coldly would delineate the scraps
of last night's cheese and three sepulchral bottles;
that on the kitchen shelf amoong the saucers
a pair of beetle-eyes would fix her own--
envoy from some village in the moldings...
Meanwhile, he, with a yawn,
sounded a dozen notes upon the keyboard,
declared it out of tune, shrugged at the mirror,
rubbed at his beard, went out for cigarettes;
while she, jeered by the minor demons,
pulled back the sheets and made the bed and found
a towel to dust the table-top,
and let the coffee-pot boil over on the stove.
By evening she was back in love again,
though not so wholly but throughout the night
she woke sometimes to feel the daylight coming
like a relentless milkman up the stairs.

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Rich isnt condemning anything in this poem. she is simply illustrating society's expectations for women. The woman in this poem wanted to believe that she could have the fairytale lovestory but she falls into the stereotypical role of the domesticated woman which she hoped not to be, and there isn't much she can do about it. The ''minor demons'' refers to society basically saying 'i told you so'. society told her that she couldnt live with a man out of wedlock and she couldnt have her dream life where they shared the responsibilities, and it was right. It is just how it happened to be back then.

| Posted on 2009-10-18 | by a guest

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"Living in Sin" is critism of our society's new social norm regarding cohabitation. Rich is not condemning sex outside of wedlock so much as she is condeming the idea that one can escape an emotionally static relationship by "living together" while not actually getting married. The prevailing idealogy is that because you are not "trapped" by marriage vows, your relationship can remain exciting, and Rich clearly refutes this.

| Posted on 2009-03-27 | by a guest

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That is not threw, Living in sin is about the sexist discrimatnation in '1950s' America, Shes trying to show people that she wanted to be artistic, But she was confined to domestic household things.

| Posted on 2009-01-15 | by a guest

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I believe that the author Adrienne Rich was attempting to display the sad story of a women that is having an affair with the steemy hot, milkman!!! woowee! man was she trying to get a squirt out of him ;P

| Posted on 2008-12-03 | by a guest