The Stranger - a Sign of Hope

Sept. 28, 2005

The Stranger - A Sign of Hope

Adrienne Rich's Diving Into the Wreck manifests her vigorous emotions towards society's occlusion of her during the transitional period of her life from mother and wife to homosexuality, of which Margaret Atwood says, "is a response of 'visionary anger,' which will hopefully precede the ability to love"(Cooper 240). Although Diving Into the Wreck contains many poems, Rich illuminates Atwood's claim in "The Stranger," by using grammatical and literal usages of prose, contrasting images of light and darkness, as well as a recurring theme of vision to demonstrate her displacement from, and even anger towards society, however, Atwood's claim fails to acknowledge Rich's great sense of hope, foreshadowed by the same images and language, in "The Stranger."

Rich uses literal and grammatical uses of text immediately, displaying her feeling of displacement. The first lines of the poem, "Looking as I've looked before, straight down the heart of the street to the river," convey this with tense usage and descriptive language(Rich 1-2). The word 'heart' brings to life the idea of love by its almost synonymic meaning. In conjunction with the grammatical style Rich uses here, the usage of both present and past tense of the word 'look' in the same line, indicates that where she's 'looking,' she's no longer 'loved,' as indicated by the past tense. A very strong affirmation, love, or the lack thereof represents her unmistakable feeling of abandonment.

Using words both conducively and literally, Rich equivocates her rejection from society. The next lines, "walking the rivers," and, "feeling the shudder of caves," read closely in conjunction with, "watching the lights," gives contrasting ideas that show her displacement from society(Rich 3-5). The words 'rivers' and 'caves' have an almost antonymous meaning from 'lights,' while the first two indicate places of solitude, the latter represents civilization. Read with the preceding verbs, 'walking' and 'feeling,' which also have very antonymic meanings from 'watching,' she paints a picture of her being in a dark place away from the city. In the ensuing lines, "walking as I've walked before like a man, like a woman, in the city," Rich reinforces the idea and goes further by showing that all of society rejects her(Rich 6-7). Using the words 'man,' 'woman,' and 'city' she really emphasizes her rejection comes from not one particular, but all of society. Reading all of these lines together, it creates a repetitive tone which conveys a feeling of frustration.

As it usually goes, frustration turns to anger and Rich clearly demonstrates with tactful use of language in the second half of the poem. The following lines clearly demonstrate Rich's feelings:

if I come into a room out of the sharp misty light

and hear them talking a dead language

if they ask me my identity

what can I say but

I am the androgyne. (Rich 11-15)

The 'sharp light' that Rich comes out of indicates of her being able to see, this idea of vision represents understanding and acceptance, which she repeats throughout the poem, however she comes into a room full of 'dead language,' which indicates her inability to understand or be understood. A lack of understanding usually leads to frustration, Rich demonstrates this with her response, "I am the androgyne," one who has characteristics of both male and female, reveals why society disdains her. Rich grows angry, continuing, "I am the living mind you fail to describe / in your dead language," with strong feelings of resentment. Within this anger that Rich uses a silver lining emerges.

Within the cunning writing of Rich, she uses meticulously chosen words to personify her acceptable life and society's unacceptable behavior. In the subsequent lines, "the lost noun, the verb surviving / only in the infinitive," Rich recognizes that, though she may not be accepted, the literal meaning of infinitive, she's alive(Rich 18-19). Going back to the first line, Rich echoes the idea with the use of the word 'heart,' which can also be interpreted as the anatomical meaning, the organ that regulates life. Although there's a feeling of disconnect, Rich acknowledges her existence. Rich also uses well placed words to construe that society has acted unfairly. Rich, "hear(s) them talking a dead language," shows this by preceding 'them' before 'dead language'(Rich 12). Rich repeats the idea again with, "your dead language"(Rich 17). By declaring