In the poem “Diving into the Wreck” by Adrienne Rich, many images come into play throughout the stanzas. Images such as “the book of myths,” “the camera,” “the knife-blade,” “the body-armor of black rubber,” and many other pieces of equipment aboard the speaker’s ship. I also came across images of the speaker’s “dive” into the ocean and the “wreck” at the sea bottom. As Rich’s poem continues through the stanzas, I began to notice the “wreck” and it’s possible meanings much more, and the speaker’s equipment began to come together as one identity. Both the “wreck” and the image of the “speaker” changed in my eyes after finishing Rich’s poem, as I believe the “wreck” went from being an actual shipwreck to a symbol of America’s negative outlook on the work and productivity of females, and the speaker herself transformed from being a female to a lost identity.
I know from history classes in high school that the 1970’s were a time of feminist movements, and I believe Adrienne Rich is criticizing those who did not support the movement and who looked down upon the female as a work force and productive member of American society. As the speaker climbs down the ladder and into the ocean in the second and third stanzas, she is stepping into the battle grounds for the feminist movement. In lines 37-38, the speaker’s “mask is powerful/ it pumps [her] blood with power,” possibly referring to the fact that there were some men who supported the feminist movement for equality. As the speaker continues in stanzas six and seven, we get images of the damage done to the “wreck” and the “drowned face.” I believe these are symbols of the many women who fought for the feminist movement and did not see their work accomplish the final goal.
As line 72 begins in stanza eight, I perceived a change come upon the speaker as “the mermaid whose dark hair/ streams black, the merman in his armored body” came to be. This is the beginning of the loss of identity for the speaker as she too is becoming a victim of the oppression towards the feminist movement. I also began to believe after some re-reads that the speaker leads to the idea of society never appreciating the accomplishments of female work. “The half-destroyed instruments” in line 83 portray the women who have dedicated their time for the feminist movement to no avail, and “the fouled compass” in line 86 exposes the suggestion that some women have lost their drive for the movement due to how difficult the struggle was for equality. Finally, “our names do not appear” in line 94 suggests that once the movement has ended and equality is attained, the identities and work completed by the feminist movement will most likely be lost in history.
Rich, Adrienne. “Diving into the Wreck”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. Allison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, Kelly J. Mays.-9th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.
Shipwreck image:
Scuba diver image:
Woman image:
GIRL POWER!
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