The poetry references are well done. I agree with pretty much everything there.
But, though I appreciate the input of Miranda, she is wildly misinformed.
"Anne Sexton was sexually abused by her parents." This has actually been denied by every member of Anne's family. Even Anne's own psychiatrist believes that she made up the fact that her father sexually abused her, though it's been included in her biography because her therapist thought it was "real to Anne."
"When she was in her 20's she tried committing suicide with a piece of "broken glass" and went to see a psychiartist not long after." Actually, this couldn't be more wrong. Yes, she did attempt suicide, but with pills after she gave birth to Linda and not a "piece of broken glass." The broken glass is more likely a reference to the dreams she sees that are now broken.
"I think I read somewhere that her parents died while on vaction. Their boat tipped over and they drowned..."let's take the boat out, wait until darkness."- Ummm... whoever wrote that needs to be smacked. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Anne Sexton's parents deaths are well documented in her poetry. Her mother died of breast cancer- and her father died from... something wrong with his brain not too long after if I remember correctly what she said in her poems.
"Nowhere in the corridors of pale green and grey" refers to her looking for mercy in her house in the "suburbs." -I see this as more of a reference to institutions.
"It said in the biography that I took from the library that her parents urged her not to tell anyone about the things that happened at home. After they died, she felt like she could finally let everything out." -What biography did you read?! This is insanely inaccurate- not even close.
"She went to a church and confessed to a "a priest--he's the doctor, he can handle the shocks." The shocks are referring to the cruel things her parents did to her." -Actually this is a dual reference: to shock treatment and to the poem "The Kiss" in which she likens sex to ECTs, which makes sense. She told her shrink that the only good thing she could do with her life was to become a prostitute and make men feel powerful. The priest reference is a reference to how much faith she put into the practice of psychiatry.
"Dreaming of the tenderness, the tremble in the hips, of kissing Mary's lips"...Mary is Anne Sexton's mother. -While yes, this is true, this is most likely a reference to the virgin Mary. Anne, as she grew older, became increasingly more religious, even writing letters to a clergy man who fell in love with her.
Sorry, I just needed to clear that up...
As for my personal interpretation, I think this is probably documenting what happened right before Anne died. After she divorced her husband, who was a large part of her life, she realized that she was alone, one of her biggest fears. "looking down on empty streets, all she can see
are the dreams all made solid
are the dreams all made real"
She is looking back on what she used to have... looking back on what she tried desperately to create. Still yearning for Mercy Street, a place that she thinks she can find only in death. So, she kills herself and finally ends that "Awful Rowing Toward God" by joining her father who was abusive, yes but not sexually, emotionally (she had an acute case of acne growing up and he often expressed disgust at her appearance), but who she wanted to love her.
The poetry references are well done. I agree with pretty much everything there. But, though I appreciate the input of Miranda, she is wildly misinformed. "Anne Sexton was sexually abused by her parents." This has actually been denied by every member of Anne's family. Even Anne's own psychiatrist believes that she made up the fact that her father sexually abused her, though it's been included in her biography because her therapist thought it was "real to Anne." "When she was in her 20's she tried committing suicide with a piece of "broken glass" and went to see a psychiartist not long after." Actually, this couldn't be more wrong. Yes, she did attempt suicide, but with pills after she gave birth to Linda and not a "piece of broken glass." The broken glass is more likely a reference to the dreams she sees that are now broken. "I think I read somewhere that her parents died while on vaction. Their boat tipped over and they drowned..."let's take the boat out, wait until darkness."- Ummm... whoever wrote that needs to be smacked. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Anne Sexton's parents deaths are well documented in her poetry. Her mother died of breast cancer- and her father died from... something wrong with his brain not too long after if I remember correctly what she said in her poems. "Nowhere in the corridors of pale green and grey" refers to her looking for mercy in her house in the "suburbs." -I see this as more of a reference to institutions. "It said in the biography that I took from the library that her parents urged her not to tell anyone about the things that happened at home. After they died, she felt like she could finally let everything out." -What biography did you read?! This is insanely inaccurate- not even close. "She went to a church and confessed to a "a priest--he's the doctor, he can handle the shocks." The shocks are referring to the cruel things her parents did to her." -Actually this is a dual reference: to shock treatment and to the poem "The Kiss" in which she likens sex to ECTs, which makes sense. She told her shrink that the only good thing she could do with her life was to become a prostitute and make men feel powerful. The priest reference is a reference to how much faith she put into the practice of psychiatry. "Dreaming of the tenderness, the tremble in the hips, of kissing Mary's lips"...Mary is Anne Sexton's mother. -While yes, this is true, this is most likely a reference to the virgin Mary. Anne, as she grew older, became increasingly more religious, even writing letters to a clergy man who fell in love with her. Sorry, I just needed to clear that up...
As for my personal interpretation, I think this is probably documenting what happened right before Anne died. After she divorced her husband, who was a large part of her life, she realized that she was alone, one of her biggest fears. "looking down on empty streets, all she can see are the dreams all made solid are the dreams all made real" She is looking back on what she used to have... looking back on what she tried desperately to create. Still yearning for Mercy Street, a place that she thinks she can find only in death. So, she kills herself and finally ends that "Awful Rowing Toward God" by joining her father who was abusive, yes but not sexually, emotionally (she had an acute case of acne growing up and he often expressed disgust at her appearance), but who she wanted to love her.