A Work of Artifice - A Profound Poem for Many Cultures Essay -- Poetry

"A Work of Artifice"- A Profound Poem for Many Cultures Suppression of women has occurred in all societies. Damage created by societal repression ranges from psychological damage to physical damage. Â  The suppression of women is not only perpetrated by men, often other women support the cultural traditions which are damaging, as they themselves grew up within the confines of those social norms. Â  Marge Piercy, a feminist activist, writer and poet makes a statement against social norms damaging to women with her poem, "A Work of Artifice". After reading the poem, one can certainly appreciate the fact that many norms embraced as acceptable for a woman causes physical and psychological damage to their total health. Through "A Work of Artifice", Piercy delivers a poignant message to societies everywhere. A "Work of Artifice" contains images of female suppression from various cultures. Piercy uses the symbol of a bonsai tree to represent a woman that has been conformed to society. The gardener "whittles back the branches" (Piercy, 10) every day, as a society or group forms a woman into what they think is decent or acceptable. Much literature, as well as other forms of media is devoted to depicting women who find themselves trying to achieve their dreams, while simultaneously having to work against the wishes of the greater part of their societies. Sometimes the heroines have to struggle to overcome society created morals within themselves. An example of this can be found within David Graham Phillips' novel The Price She Paid. The heroine, Gertrude, must give up her notions (which have been impressed upon her since birth by her family, community, and the larger part of New York Society) of what a "lady's" occupations and actions sho... ... binding- lotus shoes". San Francisco Museum: 1999. 13 Mar 2003 <a href="http://www.sfmuseum.org/chin/foot.html">http://www.sfmuseum.org/chin/foot.html</a> Eliade, Mircea, The Sacred and the Profane. Trans. Willard R. Trask. Â  New York: Harcourt Inc, 1959 "Female Genital Mutilation, a course pack". Amnesty International Website. 14 Mar 2003 <a href="http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm#ref1">http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/femgen/fgm1.htm#ref1</a> Phillips, David Graham, The Price She Paid. IndyPublish.com: 2002. 14 Mar 2003 <a href="http://jollyroger.com/library1/ThePriceShePaidbyPhillipsebook.html">http://jollyroger.com/library1/ThePriceShePaidbyPhillipsebook.html</a> Piercy, Marge, "A Work of Artifice". Literature: Thinking, Reading and Writing Critically. Ed. Sylvan et al. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 1997: 882-83, 894