Living in Sin by Adrienne Rich

In the poem “Living in Sin” written by Adrienne Rich, Adrienne begins the poem with the perception of having a perfect relationship in which everything great will majestically fall into place for her. She has the fantasy that there is no work and/or effort to be put forth into a perfect relationship when she soon realizes is false. “Living in Sin” tells the story of a young woman who is unhappy with her life as well as her husband because of the fact that she feels she is nothing but a maid rather than a beloved woman with the love and affection of a great husband. She continues to describe what a terrible life she has and makes many efforts of symbolism to express such.

In the beginning of the poem, Adrienne begins with the lines, “She had thought the studio would keep itself; no dust upon the furniture of love,” (lines 1-2). She had left me to be intrigued that she was referring to her idea of a perfect relationship. She believed that in a perfect relationship she would not have to work for anything in the relationship and that everything would just fall into effect for her benefit. Her idea of the perfect relationship is explained to be where nothing is earned or worked for so it just happens perfectly without effort in the perfect home. This led me to believe that she is feeling somewhat sad and unsatisfactory with her life at the point she is at.

Rich then continues by stating the next two lines, “Half heresy, to wish the taps less vocal, the panes relieved of grime,” (3-4) as she brings the reader to the present time in her life. She lists a couple of her many chores she is dreading for the near future. She hates the idea of reality that there is indeed work and unpleasant things in any relationship. She cont...

... middle of paper ...

...o no longer want any part of.

In conclusion, Adrienne Rich describes what seem to be the worst parts of her current life in the poem. Such parts, just so happen to be revolving around the fact that her relationship with her husband is more like a relationship with chores rather than a man who loves her. The poem appears to help Rich relieve some stress by writing and releasing how she truly feels on paper. The poem also helps her to escape back to her fantasy as she breaks from doing her house work. She explains her thoughts and feelings of all aspects to the situation and expresses such emotion with symbolism as well as personification along the way.

Works Cited

Rich, Adrienne. “Living In Sin.” Sally Brannen ENG 112 Blackboard page. University of Tennessee at

Martin. Dept. of English and Modern Foreign Languages, UTM, 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.