The Young Housewife

The poem depicts an encounter between a young housewife and a man passing by in his car. The speaker describes the young woman’s vulnerable state and observes that she is “a young housewife” (Line 1). The speaker also observes that the time of day is “ten A.M.” (Line 1), which establishes part of the setting. It is light out, and the day is just beginning.

In Line 2, the speaker begins describing the young housewife more fully. They imagine the young housewife moving “about in negligee” (Line 2). This is an intimate thought because a negligee is see-through and consists of a sheer, usually long dressing gown. The line is enjambed with the word “behind” (Line 2) shifting into the next line.

In Line 3, the speaker focuses on the housewife’s existence. They imagine the housewife moving behind “the wooden walls of her husband’s house” (Line 3). The speaker disassociates the housewife with any type of ownership from the house. Instead, the speaker fully associates the ownership of the house with the husband. The house’s “wooden walls” (Line 3) form a type of prison in which the housewife lives. Thus, the housewife is not only a victim of the house but also of her husband, the head of household. The speaker’s placement of the housewife as completely dependent on her husband is relevant in the context of the time in which Williams published the poem. At the time in the United States women still did not have the right to vote, and many women found themselves completely reliant upon their husbands financially and socially. Line 4 consists of a single, punctuated first-person statement: “I pass solitary in my car” (Line 4).

The speaker does not describe the setting or the car. However, they do reveal that they are alone in the car. This line is the final line in the first stanza. The second stanza begins with the line “Then again she comes to the curb” (Line 5). The phrase “Then again” (Line 5) could either mean the housewife has arrived a second time that morning, or it could mean she is repeating a daily routine. The housewife has emerged from the house and has stopped at the “curb” (Line 5). In this context, “curb” (Line 5) is a concrete or stone edging to a path or a street. The curb can represent where the young housewife’s existence beyond the inside of “her husband’s house” (Line 3) ends. Line 5 utilizes enjambment, ending with the word “curb” (Line 5), which reflects the ending boundary of the housewife's territory just as the word marks the boundary of the line in the poem.

In Line 6, the speaker describes what the young housewife is doing. In this case, the young housewife is performing some of her daily duties, which include “to call the ice-man, fish-man, and stands” (Line 6). The description of multiple tasks creates the impression of repetition and of time passing—the speaker compresses the housewife's monotonous series of days into one line. The line contains a rather seductive tone, since the young housewife is calling to other men. The enjambed line ends with the word “stands” (Line 6), which creates the sense of minor independence. However, as the enjambment segues into Line 7, the speaker’s image of the housewife grows more vulnerable. The speaker describes the housewife as “shy, uncorseted” (Line 7). The housewife is uncomfortable as she stands, vulnerable, outside the walls of the house that both confine and protect her. That she is uncorseted but still shy hints that she may be cautiously exploring the idea of freedom and independence that women were beginning to experience in the middle of World War I. Again, the line relies on enjambment to reinforce the images and transition to the next line.

Line 8 unfolds, and the speaker’s observation of the housewife’s vulnerability continues. The speaker imagines the housewife “tucking in” (Line 7) her “stray ends of hair” (Line 8). The speaker’s usage of the first-person pronoun “I” (Line 8) reestablishes the speaker’s role in the poem and their position in correlation to the housewife. The speaker states, “I compare her” (Line 8). This comparison creates not only a sense of distance in the poem but also a sense of objectification. In Line 9, the speaker reveals they compare the housewife “to a fallen leaf” (Line 9). The word “fallen” (Line 9) in a theological context means to be subject to sin or depravity. This line concludes the second stanza.

The final stanza begins with Line 11: “The noiseless wheels of my car” (Line 11). At this point, the poem transitions into the speaker’s experience. The speaker appears even more distanced from the housewife. The speaker also seems disengaged from the driving experience. They describe the wheels as “noiseless” (Line 11), which implies silence. The speaker also exhibits a sense of ownership since they describe the car as “my car” (Line 11). This is juxtaposed with the housewife's lack of ownership of the house in Line 3, in which the speaker states it is the housewife’s “husband’s house”. From this parallel, readers may conclude that the speaker is male, and Line 11 returns readers to the male-dominated social hierarchy.

Line 12 begins with the word “rush” (Line 12). This word creates a sense of speed in the poem that juxtaposes the slow, observatory tone of the previous lines and stanzas. The speaker describes the tires of the car as passing “with a crackling sound” (Line 12). The speaker is once again fully engaged with their own experience and even more distanced from the housewife. “Rush,” “crackling,” and “over” (Line 12) reinforce the sensation that the speaker, the moment, and the experience are moving forward and fleeting in a linear fashion. The line enjambs into Line 13.

Line 13 is the poem’s final line. It opens with two words: “dried leaves” (Line 13). The “dried leaves” recall the “fallen leaf” (Line 9) the speaker used to describe the housewife. The speaker is driving their car over the “dried leaves” (Line 13), which is an image that creates a sense of male domination not only over the environment and nature but also of female existence and independence. The speaker is now fully involved in the scene, and the housewife is completely removed from it. The speaker describes their physical actions: “as I bow and pass smiling” (Line 13). The speaker’s actions are passive, non-aggressive actions. “Pass” (Line 13) also creates the sensation of linear motion—the experience cannot be stopped and must continue forward without a definite conclusion.