Opression Transcending History and Time

How do Christina Rossetti, Kishwar Naheed and Maya Angelou depict a life of oppression in their poems," Cousin Kate", "Still I Rise", and "I Am Not That Woman'? All of these poems bring to the table the same issues yet they are different, for instance in Rossetti's poem "Cousin Kate" was written in the Victorian era and solely expresses gender bias in a male dominated world. Naheed's "I Am Not That Woman" was written in 1968, in a Middle Eastern country that views women as second-class citizens and as property. Angelou's "Still I Rise" the poem was written in the 1978, an era of racial turmoil and gender bias. The three poems are written from a feminist perspective and show a male dominated world. The poems show women finally taking a stand for their convictions and expressing themselves.

"Cousin Kate" by Christina Rossetti describes a cottage maiden who was seduced and used by the lord of the estate that she worked. She was surprised that someone of his class and economic status would be interested in her, and so she fell in love with him. It wasn't until after he had slept with her that he left her for her cousin, Kate. The cottage maiden was devastated that he had done that to her. She felt unclean and unwanted. The lord asked for Kate's hand in marriage and she accepted. The cottage maid thought that he married Kate because she was innocent and pure, 'Because you were so good and pure/He bound you with his ring' - the cottage maiden is in complete contrast to her cousin. The only good thing that came out of this was the cottage maiden had a child, 'Yet I've a gift you have not got...' and 'my fair-haired son' (Rossetti 25,41). The lord had seduced the cottage maiden and used her like a 'silken knot' (Rossetti 13). This means that the lord used the cottage maiden as a trophy and used her when he wanted to. Elizabeth Helsinger says Rossetti's poem "has much in common with ballad narratives of seduction"(351) In the stanzas of "Cousin Kate" the reader is drawn in to the story and sees how the Lord has seduced the "cottage maiden" into a false sense of security.

The character portrayed in "Cousin Kate" was an unmarried woman living in the Victorian era, which is rare in it for that time. She is oppressed in that she is a servant working for him and has fallen prey to the Lord of the house by being seduced into doing an unholy thing. She has an affair with him and becomes a single mother this was looked down on in that day and age. This poem brings these women into the light; the women that have laughed at, talked about and makes one think maybe this wasn't their fault; maybe it was the circumstances of the times.

In the poem " I am Not That Woman" written in 1968 by Kishwar Naheed expresses her opinion and knowledge on how woman in her culture are treated. This poem is showing oppression in the Middle Eastern culture. The first line in the poem reads, "I am not that woman/selling you socks sandshoes!"(Naheed 1,2) In these lines she is saying she is not a slave. The next part of the poem says "Remember me, I am the one you hid/ [i]n your walls of stone, while you roamed free as the breeze, not knowing"(Naheed 3,4,5). These lines are showing she is made to stay home while someone else is out of the house going off and doing whatever they please. You are made to sense she is being made to do this with the words, "You hid" and "You roamed"(Naheed 3-4). Naheed says, "not knowing that my voice cannot be smothered by stones"(5-6). She is showing her voice and that even though oppressed she is strong and willing to fight.

"I am the woman whom you bought and sold in the name of my own chastity"(Naheed 17-19). The suggestion that her father may have brought oppression is clear in this line. When it says, "whom you bought"(Naheed 18) probably means who you created which could represent a father. It further brings clarity in that it is her father by saying "and sold in the name of my own chastity"(Naheed 18-19). This line means that she has been "sold" (Naheed 18) meaning married off because of her "chastity"(Naheed 19) meaning her virginity. This poem is aimed at her father. The last part of this stanza Naheed says "not knowing that I can walk on water when I am drowning" (20-21). She saying when she is "drowning" meaning when she is sad she is still able to "walk on water" meaning she can deal with it and rise above it.

Sara Suleri's "Woman Skin Deep: Feminism and Postcolonial Condition" affirms the oppression of women in Middle Eastern cultures. Fahashi laws have been passed declaring poems and