Classic Poem

" THEN suddenly the husband seizes her,
Sweating with rage, and by the hair he drags
Her madly through the house from room to room,
And rudely shakes her, tearing out her locks,
More furiously than lion fights a bear
In wrath accusing and belaboring her.
So evil is his temper that no vow
Of hers will he in exculpation take;
Rather he strikes and beats and thumps and spanks,
While she, lamenting, fills the air with cries
And screams that through the windows and the doors
Attract the neighbors, who surround the house
And hear the husband speak his mind and scold,
Until they think the two of them are fools
And separate them with the utmost pains,
Succeeding only when he's lost his breath.
" When o'er this scene of turmoil and abuse
She ponders, and recalls the serenade
Her lover played for her the night before,
Think you she loves her husband more for this?
She wishes he were in Romania
Or far-off Meaux. I think I may assert
She'll never wish to love the man again.
'Tis true that she may make pretense of love;
But could he climb on high without a fall,
Or fly into the clouds above, and view
The deeds of man on earth, and muse thereon
At leisure, he would know his dangerous case
And by what wiles his wife protects herself.
If after that she shares her bed with him
He runs much risk, for, sleeping or awake,
Great fear attends him lest she take revenge
And have him stabbed or poisoned; or at least
Her tricks will make him lead a dangerous life,
Or she'll desert him for another love.
When women's heads are turned, they lose all shame
And sense of honor. As 'tis truly said,
They're unintelligent in love or hate.
Valerius calls them bold in artifice
And all too studious to give annoy.
" Comrade, this silly, foolish wretch, whose flesh
Is as to wolves delivered, so he's filled
With doubt, may an example be to you.
He masters thus his wife, who should not be
Supreme, but his companion and his peer,
As they have been united by the law;
And he should be, in turn, companion, too,
And not her lord and master. Do you think,
When he torments her thus and makes her life
In such misease, and her unequal holds,
That he can please her and retain her love?
Whatever she may say, no woman likes
A husband who demands supremacy.
Love dies when seignory exalts its head;
Love cannot live or last except in hearts
That are emancipated, frank, and free.
And so 'tis rarely seen that those who love
Before their marriage can affection keep;
For he who formerly to be her slave
Had sworn, and said his passion was pure love,
Now thinks himself her master and her lord. "
" Was he a slave? "
" 'Tis true. "
" And in what way? "
" In that she did not beg, but ordered him:
" Jump, friend, and get me something," and he'd jump
At her command, and fetch it without fail.
Whate'er she said, he'd do as he was bid;
To give her pleasure was his only wish.
But when they're married, as I have described,
Then Fortune's wheel has turned. (He lives in vain
Who does not learn this truth before he dies.)
Now he who lately served but orders gives
That she shall wait on him like any slave —
Holds her in check, and makes her give account
To him of all she does, though once he said
She was his mistress! Now she may complain
Her evil case when she is treated thus
By him whom she supposed to be the best
And worthiest of men that she could find
In all the earth, who now but balks her will.
She knows no one to whom she can confide
Her fear when at her throat her master stares
In such a way as he ne'er stared before.
Most evilly her husband's changed his tune,
And now she has to dance a different jig.
The game's become so strange and ominous,
When thus he's changed the dice for her, that she
Could not enjoy it if she dared to play.
How can she sing the praise of such a man?
If she does not obey, he will complain
And, in his anger, call her ugly names.
Before his wrath she's like a deadly enemy. "