By Krishnakshi Merchant
Bangle Sellers has to be one of the most beautiful poems I
have laid my eyes on, but I do believe that this poem relegates
us women into an inferior position in society but this opinion
truly varies, and depends on the timeline it's perceived in.
This poem mainly talks about how women have used bangles,
as a way to symbolize their different stages in their lives but
this poem is centered around a point of time, where there was
a drastic drift in the rights between women and men.
If we compare this poem to either the modern century or the
century in which the poem was first written in, we can find a
very significant difference in the perception of this poem, if
we talk about the past this poem could've been the perfect
significance of a woman's life. In the point in time in which
the poem was written, women were very restricted in their
lives. At that point of time, women weren’t provided any
education and were taught to cook and to be ready for
marriage. Their main focus was to be housemakers and to be
there and available for all their partners, children's and
family's needs instead of holding a career like most women in
the modern times, but by the end of the poem, it highlights
how the woman in the family eventually gets the same
treatment which was given out by her to support her entire
family. All these stages of life were also said to be resembled
by bangles for special occasions experienced by the woman in
their lives.
However, when we talk about the present point of time, there
is a significant difference in perception of the same poem,
The poem was written to target the lifestyle of women in the
early 19th century, but when it gets compared to the women in
the 21st century it sets off women into an inferior position in
our current society. Back when the poem was first written,
women had faced struggles with having a stable education and
career, and like i mentioned earlier, their main focuses in life
was to maintain a stable household, but now, Women have
been granted the rights to their education and allowance to
pursue their own careers. Women can derive the feeling of
inferiority from this poem, since it highlights every old
practice set up by society which women were expected to
follow. It also can bring about set stereotypes in society
promoting the message that women are meant to be
housemakers and should not be allowed to have their own
careers
In my opinion, the poem can be seen and understood in many
ways, It can both show the beauty in a woman’s life or it could
push people to believe women reside an inferior position
By Krishnakshi Merchant
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