Any Woman by Katharine Tynan

Any Woman

Katherine Tynan

I am the pillars of the house;
The keystone of the arch am I.

Take me away, and roof and wall
Would fall to ruin me utterly.

I am the fire upon the hearth,
I am the light of the good sun,

I am the heat that warms the earth,
Which else were colder than a stone.

 

At me the children warm their hands;
I am their light of love alive.

Without me cold the hearthstone stands,
Nor could the precious children thrive.

 

I am the twist that holds together
The children in its sacred ring,

Their knot of love, from whose close tether
No lost child goes a-wandering.

 

I am the house from floor to roof,
I deck the walls, the board I spread;

I spin the curtains, warp and woof,
And shake the down to be their bed.

I am their wall against all danger,
Their door against the wind and snow,

Thou Whom a woman laid in a manger,
Take me not till the children grow!

 

 

About the Poet:

Katherine Tynan

Katharine Tynan was born on 23 January 1859 and died on 2 April 1931.

She was an Irish writer,  mainly known for her novels and poetry.

Her vast body of work explored issues of feminism, her Catholic faith, Irish nationalism and the First World War.

She wrote extensively about the domestic role of women and its importance.

Katharine’s first poem, A Dream, was published in 1878.

By 1931, she wrote over 100 novels, more than a dozen books of poetry, twelve collections of short stories, several volumes of autobiography and a variety of newspaper articles.

                                                                                                                                                                     

Role of Woman in Families

´ She manages the family, works as chef, the house keeper.

´ She does the laundry, sometimes the driver.

´ She looks after the children, resolves conflicts, event planner, counselor, guide, mentor.

´ She does all the household duties.

´ She is a Teacher.

´ She is the Finance Manager.

´ She prepares food, washes and irons clothes, educate children, cleans the house and keeps it tidy, make the bed, does the shopping.

´ When anyone is sick, she takes care of them.

´ She pants vegetables in the garden.

´ She scolds and punishes them when necessary.

Analysis

The poem, “Any Woman” by Katherine Tynan, speaks about the role of a mother in the family.

It is in fact, ‘Any Mother’, and not ‘Any Woman’.

The woman in the poem narrates the various roles adorned by her, for the welfare of the family. She is an irreplaceable aspect of any family.

The poet glorifies, the importance of a mother in a family.

She is the keystone of the house. Like the key stone in an arch, that joins the different stones, she too connects different members of the family. Without the keystone the entire structure will fall to ruins.

She is also the hearth that gives room its warmth. Without the fireplace the room would be a damp and dark place where living is impossible.

She is the walls that protect the members of the family.

If something happens to her the whole family will be ruined.

Children live because of the warmth of mothers' love.

She walls all dangers and protects her family from 'wind and snow’.

Wind and Snow stands for all external forces trying to harm the family.

Now days the presence of a mother in a family is rarely noticed.

She is considered only as a machine who never gets tired of anything.

She is neglected and confined within the four walls her house.

This poem demands all readers to open their eyes and to be considerate towards a woman's inner feelings, and to regard her as an individual.

This poem 'Any Woman' presents the all-embracing power of a woman to hold her family together.

In the last part of the poem the mother makes her humble wish to live long enough to see her children grow. She is selfless enough to think of her young ones.

The mother figure in the poem, and her private emotions, are presented through a lot many metaphorical images, such as pillars, keystone, fire on the hearth, light, etc.

 Except for the first stanza, the rhyme scheme in the poem is to be identified as ab, ab, cd, cd, .....

A mother is not only the foundation of the household; she is also the ‘vita lux et amor’ – the life, light, and love that fill a house.

Like the sun which warms the earth, she is the fire upon the hearth. The children warm their hands at her.

Without her the house would be cold and lifeless and the children would not thrive.

The mother is also like a twist or a knot in the ring that holds the different strands together.

She holds the children together in the sacred ring of love.

Without the knot of love many a child could go a-wandering and get lost.

Finally, the poet describes the countless duties a mother performs every day in the house.

She decorates the house, gets the table ready for dinner, spins the curtains, and makes their bed.

Here she is also compared to a mother bird who builds the nest, feeds the nestlings and makes their bed with her own soft feathers.

She walls out the wind and snow and protects them from all danger.

The poem ends with the mother’s prayer to Jesus to keep her alive till the children grow.

Figure of Speech

The dominant figure of speech is metaphor.              

In Metaphor we say something is the same as another.

Any Woman compares herself to the pillars of the house, the wall, the fire upon the hearth, the keystone of the arch that hold it together.

She is the house from floor to roof.

She is the warmth of the good sun.

She is the knot of love that holds the family together.

She is the sacred ring that guarantees safety and security.

She is the heat that warms the earth.

****************************************************