Like The Careful Undressing Of Love Analysis

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In a similar way, Duffy reminds us that traditional romantic relationships usually end in a restrictive marriage. In Valentine she compared the creamy white rings of the onion with the metal “platinum loops” of a “wedding-ring” which over time will, like the onion rings, “shrink” in size. The negative connotation og the verb ”shrink” suggests that marriage entraps a person and restricts them both physically as well as emotionally, like Martha is in Weekend. Duffy warns others of the consequences of romantic conventions, which can be destructive when compared to free romantic love. Unlike Havisham who perhaps has the thought of marriage on her mind, which stems from the pain of her being dumped at the alter, “Spinster.” The noun is spoken like …show more content…

In Valentine, the simile “like the careful undressing of love” can be interpreted both as a reference to the sexual aspect of the speaker’s relationship, but also the growth of their emotional bond, which the peeling away of clothes and layers of personality may bring. The adjective “careful” suggests tenderness, affection, warmth and sensitivity between the lovers as they gradually allow external barriers to come down and expose their true selves to each other. For Martin sex is enjoyable “Sex! Ah sex. Orgasm, please Martin requires it.” but “orgasm, please,” suggests that Martha has to fake her orgasms just to please Martin, as Martha wouldn’t want “his secretary providing a passion you neglected to develop.” This too, adds to the many insecurities of Martha as it seems sex is not important to her but she has to pretend to enjoy it so that Martin is happy and doesn’t feed into her fear of ending up as a replacement like Janet. To compare, the speaker in Valentines suggests that the sexual aspect of a relationship is something that pleases both partners as it brings the emotional connection together, whereas, Martha in Weekend only uses the sexual aspect of her relationship to please just her husband in order for their relationship to …show more content…

The image of the onion is used to reflect upon the powerful nature of love. The speaker describes love in relationships as having “fierce kiss” this metaphor represents the violence of a possessive and angry kiss, which will “stay on your lips”; the lover is attempting to articulate not only the romantic, positive aspect of love in relationships, but also its more negative, darker associations. There is also the continued allusion to the senses through the taste of the onion, which, just like some romantic relationships, is strong, unpleasant and difficult to erase. As the scent of an onion can be seen as hard to remove, love too can be seen as ‘possessive and faithful.’ It is at this point that Duffy again draws our attention to the contrasting sides of relationships. The adjective ‘possessive’ suggests a sinister side of love; that it can lead to obsession, whilst the adjective ‘faithful’ gives a more positive feeling that love can bring security and trust. Again, Duffy appears to be using her comparison to present the dual nature of love and reflect that relationships will not always remain so pleasing. This is all too clear in Havisham as years later Miss Havisham speaks of “love’s/hate behind a white veil” and warns that she will wreak revenge on the man who hurt her so badly. The “white veil” normally associated with the purity and virginity of a bride has now become something that

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