In the poem, The Author to Her Book , Anne Bradstreet, the persona, addresses her previously published book "The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America." In the poem, Bradstreet likens her book to a child that she brought forth as a mother. She acknowledges that the child was a product of her weak brain and was snatched from her without consent for publication, similar to the kidnapping of a child.
Motherhood is one of the main points in Bradstreet’s poems. The poem was published in 1666 when women were confined to motherhood and domestic chores. Her position as a writer symbolizes a mother, and the book is her child. The most basic role of a mother was to love her child unconditionally. The natural motherly love to her child is elaborated in line 11 when she writes, "Yet being mine own, at length affection would." This implies that despite the flaws, she was ready to love her child. Also, women were expected to take up character development roles and ensure children became morally and socially acceptable adults. This role is portrayed in line 12 when Bradstreet says that she was ready to amend the blemishes on her child.
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Also, Bradstreet points out female modesty, which is slightly different from the motherhood theme. As a 17 th -century female writer, Bradstreet plays down her abilities in many ways. At this period, women were confined in their homes, and their duties were primarily to take care of their husbands and wife. This prompts her to downplay her talent as a poet, and she refers to her brain as "feeble." She also claims that her attempts to make corrections on the book with numerous flaws would worsen.
Another point elaborated by Bradstreet is criticism. As a female writer, her work is compared to that of the accomplished male writers of the 17 th century, and she faces extreme criticism. Part of the criticism is due to the flaws in her work, while another is due to her gender. Her first critics are her close friends, who snatch her writings and publish them without her consent. They do this not to encourage her but to expose the flaws in her writings and subject her to public activism. According to Bradstreet, the most critical aspect of criticism starts with the press. Editors at publishing companies attempt to identify flaws and make corrections on literature works before publishing. However, Bradstreet feels that the editing changes the originality of literary work, making it worse. She elaborates this when she says that after publishing the book, "Thy Visage was so irksome in my sight." This implies that some of the changes had eroded her ideas.
In this poem, Bradstreet is portrayed as a female who takes up male-dominated fields and performs below the set standards. Her critics do not consider that she has to take up her motherhood roles as she writes, becoming disadvantaged. This issue currently affects women in the U.S. Women continue to be sidelined in several professions, mostly in technical fields. Those who join these fields are paid less compared to their male counterparts. Also, females’ performance is averaged as being lower than males' performance. This is done with little consideration that women are still expected to perform most domestic roles in their homes. Positive criticism has its advantages in shaping professionals, but challenges that women face should be considered before subjecting them to criticism. Also, women should be given fairground and due recognition that is accorded to male performers.
Reference
Bradstreet, A. (2005). The author to her book. In M. Ferguson, M. J. Salter, & J. Stallworthy (Eds.), The Norton Anthology of Poetry (p. 465). Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.libraryresources.waldorf.edu/ps/i.do? p=LITF&sw=w&u=oran95108&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CLTF0000073825WK&asid=43d73bab71d097247f2b9cd5ad540545
