A Woman’s Question by Lena Lathrop

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing

Ever made by the Hand above?
A woman's heart, and a woman's life-
And a woman's wonderful love.
Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing
As a child might ask for a toy?
Demanding what others have died to win,
With the reckless dash of a boy.
You have written my lesson of duty out;
Manlike, you have questioned me.
Now stand at the bar of my woman's soul
Until I shall question thee.
You require your mutton shall always be hot,
Your socks and shirt shall be whole;
I require your heart to be true as God's stars
And as pure as His heaven your soul.
You require a cook for your mutton and beef,
I require a far greater thing;
A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts-
I look for a man and a king.
A king for a beautiful realm called Home,
And a man that his Maker, God,
Shall look upon as He did on the first
And say: “It is very good."
I am fair and young, but the rose may fade
From my soft young cheek one day;
Will you love me then 'mid the falling leaves,
As you did in the blooms of May?
Is your heart an ocean so strong and deep,
I may launch my all on its tide?
A loving woman finds heaven or hell
On the day she is made a bride.
I require all things that are grand and true,
All things that a man should be;
If you give this all, I would stake my life
To be all you demand of me.
If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook
You can hire and little to pay;
But a woman's heart and a woman's life
Are not to be won that way.
Vocabulary:
 Costliest thing: High in price; expensive
 Priceless: Having a value beyond any price
 Reckless: Impetuous
 Dash: Run or travel somewhere in a hurry
 Manlike: Reminiscent of a man
 Bar of woman’s soul: Behind depths of her soul
 True as God’s stars: Genuine or real
 Seamstress: A woman who sews
 Realm: Kingdom
 Fade: Disappear gradually
 Mid the falling leaves: Approaching autumn; becoming old
 Tide: The rise and fall of sea waves that happens twice each day
 Grand: Magnificent
 Life at stake: An oath sworn on one’s life
 Laundress: A woman who is employed to launder clothes

About Lena Lathrop;

Eva Lena Lathrop was born in Gentry, Benton, Arkansas, USA on 13th March 1893 to Francis
Marion Lathrop and Mary Catherine Prather. Eva Lena Lathrop married Dick Carter. She started
writing from a young age and wrote dozens of poems. “A Woman’s Question” was taken from
Joshua Harris’s book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”. Lena Lathrop passed away in July 1979 at the
age of 93. There are no known causes of her death.

General meaning
In this poem, Lathrop describes the constant sacrifices and grievances a woman
has to endure in order to make her marriage successful. It is a classical poem dedicated to the
power of love of women.

Detailed Meaning
The poetess begins her poem by stating rhetorical questions regarding the
sanctity of a woman’s love and her life. Lathrop has depicted her poem as a scenario in which
she is demanding inquiries from a man. She believes a woman’s love to be priceless beyond
measure whereas the stereotypical representation of a “man” believes it to be expendable and a
liability. Furthermore, it is obvious from the continued tirade in the form of rhetorical questions
and exaggerated statements that Lathrop considers men demanding and domineering when it
comes to materialistic things like food and other aspects of home keeping. On the other hand, a
woman looks for support, acknowledgement, love and respect in her husband, a person who sees
her as his equal and not as an inferior being. To further drive home the fickleness of a man’s
heart, Lathrop poses questions about whether a man would love his woman when her beauty has
faded due to old age. Lathrop concludes the poem by stating clearly that a woman’s heart may
well be accommodating to a lot of sacrifices, but still she yearns for a man who sees her as a real
person and not a slave who is forced to do menial drudgery. She makes it glaringly clear in the
closing notes of her poem that anyone can be hired for cooking and sewing and other
homemaking tasks but a woman’s love cannot be brought with insensitive and callous behavior.
Lathrop beautifully brings to light the insensitivities of human nature, especially those
commonly displayed by the male population. Along with it goes the constant impositions and
requirements meted out by a man for his wife to be beautiful, educated and adept at taking care
of his each and every need. The poetess expresses her dismay by giving instances as to how men
like their food and clothes perfect and in peak condition. Faithfulness and blind loyalty are also
demanded of a woman as though it means nothing. For once, she wants men to listen to their
wives’ grievances as well. A woman is a creature of gentleness and fairness. She requires and
craves love and loyalty just as much and as often as she gives it. Women are also not prone to
hound after external appearances, which is a glaring contrast from the men. If a woman makes a
relation, she tries to honor that relationship with devotion and dedication. In a very reciprocal
manner, men possess a capricious nature and are more likely to seek love and affections from
elsewhere when they grow tired of their marriages.

There is a vivid richness of language in this poem that brings out various meanings
and allusions regarding this particular topic. The poetess questions specifically the men of our
society, but the queries are mostly there to make a point rather than in expectation of a direct
answer. Such rhetorical questions are seen throughout the poem. It may be intended to start a
discussion or to at least draw an acknowledgement that the listener understands the intended
message. The main focus of the poem is about the significance, delicacy and inner beauty of
women and how they should be treated by their men. The poetess continually uses literary
devices to produce a special effect in an enticing way. For example, alliteration is seen
throughout the poem in order to emphasize the delicacy and resilience of women, as in:

A woman’s heart, and a woman’s life

And a woman’s wonderful love

The “w” consonant is repeated heavily, creating a musical and somewhat breathy
sound that mimics a woman’s allure but also with stress on the syllables. There is alliteration of
“s” consonant in stanza 4 and 5 to negate the superiority of men over women. The poetess uses
simile in stanza 4 “your heart to be as true as God’s stars” and “your soul as pure as His
Heaven”. She makes this comparison in order to create this picture in the reader’s mind that
instantly communicates the poetess’ demand for her husband to be true, just and fair to her,
although it may be granted that the simile is too high flown for the poetess to have any real faith
in it, which furthermore explains that she does not expect much integrity and character from a
man. There are also various allegorical references in the poem. One of them is the fact that while
a man may see his wife as a laundress and seamstress, it’s the woman who has enough respect
for her husband for her to refer to him as a “king”. Examples of anaphora are also seen in the
poem with phrases like “do you know” and “if” and “I’. These repeated phrases portray the
direness and gravity of the unfortunate situation being dealt to the poetess and women in general.
The poetess also employs juxtaposition to explain her viewpoint. She makes a clear picture of
two characters i.e. man and woman and the comparison of their thoughts, feelings and takes on
life by placing said characters side-by-side. Contrast in the form of “heaven and hell” rather
strongly explains the fact that a woman may find her life either very pleasant or very ruined on
her wedding day by the sole behavior of her husband towards her. Anthropomorphism is also
employed in this poem when the poetess compares the heart, which is a distinctly human
character, to the ocean, which does not possess life of its own. Such stark contrast is meant to
explain that an organ as small as the heart can wield the power of the ocean itself. The meter is
the rhythm of a poem and is a stressed and unstressed syllabic pattern in a verse, which is A BC
BA.

Conclusion
The poem refrains from employing highly lurid or unnaturally flowery language but rather
uses perfunctory and minimalistically simplified language to convey the basic message in loud
and clear tones. This fact, combined with the easy and hard-hitting message, makes a Woman’s
Question, a very prodigious piece of literature.