week 4: Neruda's Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair
Certain repeated concepts or descriptive words caught my attention, specifically as to how the image of 'the woman' was portrayed throughout the poems. Even though there was a noticeable shift in perception of the woman, that was visible to the reader by the end of the collection, there were persistent ideas of control, thirst/lust, silence/silenced, as well as the state of his soul. If the woman were to read it all in one go, perhaps she could be drawn in by the concluding poems that discuss what a grave loss it is for her to move on. However at the same time, it does still communicate a sense of him 'releasing her', which is a conflicting interpretation for me to settle on. Mainly because I cannot tell if he would keep the woman if he could? Or is it rather communicating the idea that even though he does not want to see her go, he is finished with her.
I do not believe that we ever get her perspective on the relationship. Anytime there is a mention of her emotions or general state of being, it is seemingly always his perception of her rather than her true perspective. In my mind the interpretations he formulates based on what her eyes are 'saying' speaks heavily to the lack of representation *her* perspective of the relationship is given.
The image of the woman communicated by the poet is that a woman is ideally "forged" to meet the desire of men and embodies lustful silence. A woman's role is to provide "loving silence", quench male thirst, embody a "toy doll", and most of all be 'his'.
If the woman who is the subject of these poems were to read them, I would assume it would be quite traumatizing to relive his perspective of the experiences. Especially reaching near the end where he feels that "nothing draws me towards you", this is a noticeable shift in his regard for the woman. Continued in to the next poem, he writes a surprisingly compelling message describing how he will miss the love he felt was shared.
My understanding of the poems has led me to my question for discussion regarding the underlying sentiments of the poet -
Is he longing for the physical company of a woman without the actual 'presence' of a woman companion? (Is he looking for a dominant relationship dynamic or an 'empty vessel' to be in his presence? Is that the same thing?)
I think your question gets to the heart of the matter. Although it is very difficult to know the intentions of the author, or even of the lyrical voice, inquiring about what kind of relationship he expects with the woman can help us a lot in the debate on the ideological limits of this book of poems. As you say, there is a change in that lyrical voice. Could it be the beginning of another mentality? I don't know.
ReplyDeleteHi great blog post! I really loved your insights on the book! I was also intrigued by your question because I talked about something similar in my own post for this week. I think that he is longing for the physical company of the woman and not her presence because he continues to talk about how he likes her silent, and absent out of reach. But, he wants to have control and be dominant, he owns her and she is like a toy doll, not an actual live woman. I believe this because of the way he described her, relating her to non-human things, truly showing that he wants her passive, non-human and just wants her body, not soul.
ReplyDeleteHi. I really enjoyed your blogpost and the focus on the woman's perspective. The poems really focus on how Neruda views the woman or the relationship and never how the woman feels. A lot of what he says feels very objectifying and controlling. In regards to your question, it really feels like he just wants someone who'll meet all his needs without needing anything themselves. It feels like a very selfish view of a companion, more like being with a doll rather than an actual person.
ReplyDeleteHi KD!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post. You brought up many intense ideas in your writing! The idea that he may not even want the woman if he could have her was interesting. I also agree that if any past lover of Neruda were to read these poems and perceive them as being about them it would be quite traumatizing! Given the many descriptions of the woman’s physical appearance over her internal existence, and his almost celebration of her silence, I would agree that maybe is is longing for the physical company of a woman without the actual presence.