CONFRONTING THE PATRIARCHAL IDEAS IN DONNE’S “A VALEDICTION: FORBIDDING MOURNING” USING FEMINIST POINT OF VIEW

A. INTRODUCTION
A.1. All about the poem

Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is said to be a metaphysical poem. “Metaphysical poets are generally in rebellion against the highly conventional imagery of the Elizabethan lyric. The poems tend to be intellectually complex, and express honestly, if unconventionally, the poet's sense of the complexities and contradictions of life” (http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/english/allen/donne2.htm). The term metaphysical is usually used to describe the seventeenth-century eras. Metaphysical poets are as same as metaphysical conceit.

“A conceit is a poetic idea, usually a metaphor. Metaphysical conceits are noteworthy specifically for their lack of conventionality. In general, the metaphysical conceit will use some sort of shocking or unusual comparison as the basis for the metaphor. When it works, a metaphysical conceit has a startling appropriateness that makes us look at something in an entirely new way. The classic metaphysical conceit is Donne's comparison of the union between two lovers to the two legs of a compass” (http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/english/allen/donne2.htm)

Donne himself writes the poem for his wife on the occasion of embarking on a diplomatic as a farewell mission to France. The idea of the poem is that he wants his wife not to mourn or feel sad. Moreover, she must be faithful to him by staying at home. He tends to think rationally to his wife by giving the real reason why he should go abroad. Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” has the idea of patriarchal culture. It is not strange because the poem is written in the seventeenth-century in England. That era was identical with the dominance of male in running the society, in all aspect of life. The concept of patriarchy can be found not only in the contents of the poem but also in the dictions or the language used, such as virtuous men, no teare-floods, nor sigh-tempers move, expansion, compasses, and so on and so forth.
Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” is very interesting to be discussed because, first of all, this poem is very rich, meaning that this poem talks about the patriarchal construction which happened in seventeenth century in England. Directly, we must know and study the situation of the society at that time. The second one is that this poem can be seen by using feminist point of view to confront the idea of patriarchal construction which exists in this poem. That is why the writer chooses Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” to be discussed and to be learned.

A.2. The poem to Analyze
Donne’s poem, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, is actually a poem of love, or, in other words, this poem is talking about love, especially true love (non-physical love) and physical love. Yet, the writer does not pay attention on that and discusses the poem with different point of view, a feminist perspective. It means that the writer attempts to see the patriarchal concept which exists in the poem. This is the focus of this paper. The method used to analyze the poem is, firstly, by sorting the patriarchal ideas out of the text of the poem, as well as confronting it, by using feminist point of view. Thus, in this case, the writer does not analyze the poem stanza by stanza, but the writer will show generally where the patriarchal idea is stated, and then explains it using feminist approach.

A.3. The Problem to Answer
It is important to state the problem formulation of the paper since it will serve as guide and limitation of the analysis. In this paper, the problem which appears as the question to answer is what patriarchal concepts can be sorted out of Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” by using the idea of feminism.

A.4 The Purpose of Writing the Topic
Surely, the purpose of the conduction of the analysis is to describe how the feminist point of view makes the confrontation toward patriarchal culture, which also reflects the structural social condition in seventeenth century: how women were treated by the society at that time.

B. THEORIES

B.1. Feminist Approach
Basically, feminism exists because of the marginalization of the women: making women into the second position in every circumstance. Feminists believe that our culture is a patriarchal one: men have power in arranging and controlling the society. They try to explain how power imbalances the gender in a given culture ere reflected in literary works. According to Adrienne Rich, a contemporary American poet, a feminist is “the place where in the most natural, organic way, subjectivity and politics have to come together” (Guerrin, 1999: 196). Feminism has several aims that are to protest the exclusion of women from the literary canon, in personal like diary literature, to exhibit a powerful political orientation (in Marxist feminist) and to redefine literary theory itself (concern in psychosexual aspects of language). Feminism represents one of the most important social, economic, and aesthetics revolutions of modern times (1999: 196).
Feminist critics also focus on studying women writers, who were often silent in the past. Tillie Olsen’s work, Silences, in 1978, studied the women’s silences on the century as how life was, for most humanity. “Silences result from circumstances of being born into the wrong class, race, or sex being denied education, becoming numbed by economical struggle, muzzled by censorship or distracted or impeded by the demands of nurturing” (Guerrin, 1999: 197).
“Feminist also examines the experiences of women from all races and classes and culture, for example African American, American Indian, lesbian, and so on. Feminist critics generally agree that their goals are to expose patriarchal premises and resulting prejudices, to promote discovery and reevaluation of literature by women and to examine social, cultural, and psychosexual contexts of literature and literary criticism” (Guerrin, 1999: 197).

Feminist literature before 1970s concerned with the politics of women’s authorship and with the politics of women’s condition in literature.
In feminist theory, the opposite of feminism is not masculinism but patriarchy. It is not surprising, therefore, that the word patriarchy has a range of additional, negative associations when used in the context of feminist theory, where it is sometimes capitalized and used with the definite article (the Patriarchy), likely best understood as a form of collective personification (compare "blame it on the Government" to "blame it on the Patriarchy"). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchal)

B.2. Theories on Patriarchy
Etymologically, the word patriarchy comes from two Greek words, pat?r means father, and arch? means rule. So, “Patriarchy describes the structuring of society on the basis of family units, in which father have primary responsibility for welfare of these units. In some cultures slave were included as part of such house hold” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchal). Generally, the term patriarchy is often related to the influence of men on the society. In a patriarchal society, men are expected to be fully responsible for the welfare of the community. Still, it does not stop up to that certain point. Moreover, men are also hoped to take care most of the public office. An anthropologist named Margaret Mead, in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchal, states that a society which is ruled by women becomes nonsense. She thinks that there is no reason to believe that they ever existed. Differently, men can be the leaders in public affairs ad the final authorities at home.

C. ANALYSIS
In this part, the writer will apply the analytical perspective of feminist approach towards the poem. The analysis is done firstly by revealing the patriarchal concept and then confronting by the idea of feminism. The writer directly states the stanza which contains the problem that is discussed.
As virtuous men passé mildly’away,
And whisper to their soules, to goe,
Whilst some of their sad friends doe say,
The breath goes now, and some say, no: (Stanza 1, lines 1-4)
The idea of patriarchy in the first stanza can be seen in the use of a phrase, such as “as virtuous men” in the beginning of the poem. The patriarchal society, especially in seventeenth century, put the men on the top position. It shows that men should be respected and have a higher position than women and children. Related to the poem, by using the word “virtuous men”, it describes that men have higher position: they are respectable people. Moreover, the next verb phrase “passé mildly’away” means that even he is already dead, but people still respect him and they are feel very sad (see first stanza line 3 & 4). It shows very clearly how men are needed and they are very important in the society. However, “virtuous men” symbolizes a person who faces death without fears and faces it peacefully. It indicates a sort of person who must be brave, gentle, and masculine.
By using the feminist criticism, what has already been described in the first stanza shows the marginalization, taking the women in the second position under men position, toward the society in the seventeenth century. Feminists see that the women in that era were under the pressures given by the men. They are less respected, their voices are “silent” or it can be called silent of the century (Guerin, 1999: 197). It is because of the circumstances around them; they have no right to argue, to have an education, to do anything without men’s under control. Feminist criticize that women should not be treated like that. Women should be treated equally with men. They have their own argument so men cannot force the women using their idea.
So let us melt, and make no noise,
No teare-floods, nor sigh-tempests move,
Twere prophanation of our joyes
To tell the layetie our love. ( stanza 2, line 5-8)
The stanza above suggests that men tend to be more rational than women. They use their mind to see the problem objectively. The word “no teare-floods, nor sigh-tempests move” shows the characteristic of men, that men pretend to use their thoughts to solve or to face the problem and ignoring the sense or their feeling. “Tears” shows the weaknesses, and it is often identical with the characteristic of women. So, in patriarchal society, men are the strong creature. They have a kind of responsibility to control women. As seen in the society’s view in general, if there is a male person crying, the society would judge that that man is weak. He, then, is misleadingly associated with women since women are said to be weak. Thus, the people will underestimate him.
Biologically, men and women are different each other; specifically in the term of the way of thinking. Men tend to be rationalists, using their mind. On the other hand, women have different one. They tend to use their feeling or sense and usually women more sensitive than men. Feminists see that this difference does not become a problem between men and women. Men should bear mutual respect with women by not giving negative judgment or underestimating women’s feeling. “Tears” is not a bad thing. “Tears” does not always mean weak. It is only a different way to express what someone is feeling. Even more, men, also have melancholic feeling, and they can feel and cry, and one should not deny that.
If they be two, they are two so
As stiffe twin compasses are two,
Thy soule the fixt foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if the other doe. (Stanzas 7, line 25-28)
And through it in the center sit,
Yet when the other far, doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as it comes home. (Stanzas 8, line 29-32)
Such wilt thou be to me, who must
Like th’ other foot, obliquely runne:
Thy firmnes makes my circle just,
And makes me end, where I begunne. (stanzas 9, line 33-36)
The last three stanzas are very important because this is the focus of the poem to reveal the idea of patriarchy. Firstly, we start with the symbols. “Compass” symbolizes the two lovers or a couple, husband and wife. Compass has two feet and it is un-separable. Each foot has their own faction. The first foot is the static foot and the faction is the center of the other foot. The static foot symbolizes the wife. The second foot is the foot that can move. The faction is to draw the circle. The dynamic foot symbolizes the husband; the circle can be small or large. The un-separable feet are the same as the two lovers, after they got married; they become un-separable to be the husband and wife. “Center sit” symbolizes the woman, or the wife. She is the center of the compass to put the unmoved foot. So, it means that, after being married, she cannot move to go around. She tends (read: is forced) to stay at home doing domestic jobs. “Circle” symbolizes the man, or the husband. It indicates that he can “move”, meaning that there is no rule to control and to limit his dynamicity.
The idea of patriarchal in these last three stanzas can be seen firstly in the term “sexual”, in this case sexual intercourse. By using the symbol of a compass’ feet, the dynamic foot and circle refers to the man. Patriarchy shows that man has a big desire in sex, and the dynamic foot means that a man can visit the other ladies. That foot can make a circle. It can be more than one circle. It means that man can make a new family or, in other words, he can have more than one wife to serve his desire. Another interpretation about the “circle” is that the circle can be a smaller and a larger one. It means that man can go abroad or traveling. But women, on the other hand, are symbolized as a static foot and the center of the compass. It means that she remains at home and it seems that the woman has a little control over her “direction”; she simply ‘hearkens’ after the direction of her husband movement. The woman’s role is to be the stable one, the one who stays at home and waits, whilst the man travels abroad.

D. CONCLUSION
There are several ways we can see the Donne’s poem using the feminism perspective by revealing the idea of patriarchy. Firstly, we can examine how the language works and the words that the author used which symbolize the patriarchal concepts. Secondly, we see the text from the different perspective, from the ‘silence’ group, for example the women. Lastly, we pay attention how the work reveal the male dominant that is stated in the poem itself.
Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” can be seen in several glasses. The ordinary people, or the people who do not apply feminist perspective, will see Donne’s poem as a love poem, or a poem that is written to comfort someone who is left by their soul-mate. But, if this poem is seen using the feminist spectacle, Donne’s poem is a poem that shows how patriarchal constructions are depicted in a literary work.

E. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.Guerrin, Wilfred L. 1999. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press.
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchal, 05 November, 2007.
3.http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/english/allen/donne2.htm, 05 November, 2007.

The Poem

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

As virtuous men passe mildly'away,
And whisper to their soules, to goe,
Whilst some of their sad friends doe say,
The breath goes now, and some say, no:

So let us melt, and make no noise,
No teare-floods, nor sigh-tempests move,
'Twere prophanation of our joyes
To tell the layetie our love.

Moving of th'earth brings harmes and feares,
Men reckon what it did and meant,
But trepidation of the spheares,
Though greater farre, is innocent.

Dull sublunary lovers love
(Whose soule is sense) cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
Those things which elemented it.

But we by a'love, so much refin'd
That we ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assured of the mind,
Care lesse, eyes, lips, and hnds to misse.

Our two soules therefore, which are one,
Though I must goe, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to ayery thinnesse beate.

If they be two, they are two so
As stiffe twin compasses are two,
Thy soule the fixt foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if the'other doe.

And though it in the center sit,
Yet when the other far doth rome,
It leanes, and hearkens after it,
And growes erect, as it comes home.

Such wilt thou be to mee, who must
Like th'other foor, obliquely runne;
Thy firmnes makes my circle just,
And makes me end, where I begunne.