All Hallows’ Eve; Poem Analysis
The overall meaning of All Hallows Eve, by Dorothea Tanning, is that it was expected that women be taught housing skills to support their future families and the struggles countless women would go through to achieve the “perfect life”.
Dorothea Tanning was born in a time where women were expected by society to be able to run a household. According to Google dictionary a housewife is a married woman whose main occupation is caring for her family, managing household affairs, and doing house work. Dorothea Tanning was born in 1910, about 107 years back from modern times. In the 1900’s average women played the role of the housewife. Her role was to obey, help and make her husband’s life easier, they were to stay home and watch over the house. Growing up in
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“Doom creeps in on rubber treads”, rubber treads are used for rubber work boots so we thought it safe to assume this doom the poet speaks of is none other than her husband (Tanning 1.5). Him being doom, something to fear of, we relate it back to the werewolf. “Countless overwrought housewives” Telling how sad a life as a house wife is with their minds being unraveled like threads as they apply makeup as a mask or tranquilizer to appear calm on the outside (Tanning 1.6). Perfectionism is often mentioned, “Sit tight, be perfect, swat the spies” Spies secretly collect information, by sitting still and acting perfect she is seeming innocent with nothing to hide from her peers (Tanning 1.11). “Drink tasty antidotes” An antidote is a medicine given to counteract a poison or in this case, the poison being her worries and the antidote being alcohol as many adults often “drown their worries in alcohol” (Tanning 1.13). She is trying to hide her unhappiness in her marriage as to not be the center of gossip in the public