Poem Analysis - Marrying The Hangman

Introduction: A Chilling Tale of Power and Survival

Margaret Atwood's "Marrying the Hangman" is a stark and unsettling poem that explores themes of power, survival, and the limited choices available to women in oppressive societies. The poem begins with a grim premise, setting a tone of impending doom and bureaucratic absurdity. As the poem progresses, it shifts between the woman's desperate struggle for survival, a detached observation of societal norms, and a chilling portrayal of the hangman's desires. The poem concludes with a sense of resignation and the inescapable weight of history, leaving the reader with a profound sense of unease.

Historical Echoes and Societal Critique

While presented as "history," the poem resonates with historical and contemporary realities of gender inequality and the commodification of women's bodies. The initial scenario, where a woman can escape death only by marrying the hangman, highlights the limited agency afforded to women. Her "crime" of stealing clothes to enhance her appearance further emphasizes the societal pressures placed on women to conform to beauty standards, and the harsh penalties for transgressing those norms. The poem implicitly critiques a patriarchal system that reduces women to objects of exchange and punishes them for seeking autonomy.

Love, Survival, and the Absurdity of Choice

One of the central themes of the poem is the distorted notion of love that arises from desperation and unequal power dynamics. The woman's "love" for the hangman is born not of genuine affection, but of a primal need to survive. The poem also explores the theme of survival under extreme conditions. The woman's resourcefulness in persuading the man to become the hangman demonstrates her will to live, even if it means compromising her own values and entering into a deeply unequal relationship. Ultimately, the poem exposes the absurdity of the "choice" presented to the woman, highlighting the lack of genuine alternatives in a system designed to control her fate.

Symbolism of Walls, Voices, and the Mask

The poem is rich in symbolism. The wall separating the woman and the man represents the physical and emotional barriers imposed by the prison and by societal constraints. The voice becomes a lifeline, a means of connection and survival in a world devoid of mirrors (self-reflection). The hangman's mask is a potent symbol of dehumanization and the erasure of individual identity. By taking on the role of the hangman, the man renounces his own face and embraces the impersonal, brutal function of the state. The mask also suggests the complicity of individuals in perpetuating systems of oppression. The water, earth, belly, cave, meat, shroud, open, blood as said by the woman symbolizes the natural world from which life springs and to which it returns, also speaking of the womb, childbirth, and the cycle of life and death. These contrasts with the man's words of foot, boot, order, city, fist, roads, time, knife which represent the human construct of civilization, power and the inevitable violence that accompanies it. These contrasting images serve to depict the power dynamic between the two figures.

Unbelievable Truths and Collective Trauma

The sixth stanza, where the speaker discusses her friends' unbelievable but true stories, introduces the theme of collective trauma and the difficulty of confronting uncomfortable truths. The phrase "These things cannot happen to us, it is afternoon and these things do not happen in the afternoon" highlights the human tendency to deny or distance ourselves from disturbing realities. The act of sharing stories becomes a means of processing trauma and creating a shared sense of understanding and belief. The speaker emphasizes that “this is not fantasy, it is history,” drawing a link between the woman's plight and the real experiences of women throughout history.

Resignation and the Enduring Weight of History

In conclusion, "Marrying the Hangman" is a haunting exploration of power, survival, and the enduring impact of history. Atwood's poem challenges us to confront the uncomfortable truths about gender inequality and the ways in which individuals are forced to navigate oppressive systems. The poem's final lines underscore the inescapable weight of history and the limitations of individual agency in the face of systemic forces. Ultimately, the poem leaves the reader with a sense of unease and a call to action, urging us to recognize and challenge the ongoing forms of oppression that continue to shape our world.