It's a Woman's World Summary

“It’s a Woman’s World” by Eavan Boland focuses on how woman are viewed and underestimated from when civilization began till now.  The poet encourages all women to stand up for their rights.

            In the first stanza of “It’s a Woman’s World” is understood that the way woman are living has not changed throughout history. “Since a wheel first whetted a knife”, this problem has been going on since the wheel was invented. In the second stanza Boland goes on talking about how woman’s lives haven’t changed. “Well, maybe flame burns more greedily and wheels are steadier but we’re the same” portrays the men working in the factories and dealing with the fire. The wheel is the second stanza is more advanced than the wheel mentioned in the first stanza, however the life of a woman is still the same.

“…Who milestone our lives with oversights- living by the lights of the loaf left by the cash register, the washing powder paid for and wrapped, the wash left wet. Like most historic people we are defined by what we forget...” “Milestone” is an event that changes something in your life, in the poem the life of a woman never changes because she never gets any big tasks to do. Woman’s duties in the world are only chores like cleaning and cooking, duties that don’t make history. Woman do their job well but they are only remembered when they forget the loaf of bread, the washing powder, and the laundry left wet. “…by what we will never be: star- gazers, fire- eaters.” A star-gazer is someone that sets up goals for themselves and a fire-eater is someone that takes chances.

In lines 24-36, it shows that has far as history goes woman are at home cooking and cleaning while the men are out fighting the war. “It’s our alibi”, a woman can say that because she wasn’t on the scene of the crime so she cannot get blamed for anything. “When the king’s head gored its basket—“ is the war that’s going on that the men are fighting. Boland puts woman down by saying that all they can do is gossip in lines 35 and 36.

Lines 37-41, illustrates that children are attracted to the fire place just like moth are attracted to flame. Also the hearth is the woman, she brings warmth and love to the house. The illustration in these lines could be understood that the men are making history and they are the role models to the children.

Boland concludes the poem by reassuring men that they do not have to worry, the woman is looking for more she’s just getting a breath of fresh air and she’s not a fire eater, she’s just the friendly neighbor going home.