Insomnia Etiquette Rita Dove Summary

Welcome to Women’s World When I was a small girl I imagined that I will be a proud and happy wife, mother as well as successful woman before my 30th birthday. In less than a month I am going to be 27 years old and honestly I am not even close to any of this. Should I feel like I disappointed myself? In the poem, “Insomnia Etiquette,” Rita Dove describes a persona, who I assume is a woman (like me), and who is most likely having a depression. Dove is an African American woman who uses her writing talent to address personal life experiences, history events and political problems. This poems leaves a lot of space for interpretation one could address the women’s struggle for identity. The beauty myth that has been created worldwide throughout ages describes beautiful women as light skinned, thin, tall, with blond hair and blue eyes. Moreover, there are some societal expectations that women should be soft, nurturers, and submissive. Throughout the poem, Dove presents an image of a lonely and depressed woman, which could be seen as criticism created by society and media’s beauty myth that women should be white, thin, and caregivers; the author is creating a clear image of a woman who has none of these qualities by using simple and informal language. The poem’s

The persona admits she is aware she is going to regret not only drinking the scotch but also earing the cheese. “I know tomorrow I will regret/ having the Stilton. I will regret/ not being able to find s book to get lost in” (20-23). Thus, she misses her old life when she was able to lost herself in a book not in alcohol. Moreover, she will regret that she ate late at night because the daylight and the judgmental eyes of society are going to remind her that she should stay thin and classy. The social pressure of what she ought do created by society and her own etiquette destroys