I think the pact that she has made was to be a wife and mother, and this pact was made with man with the man being her husband. She is now able to claim her territory (or her body) back because her husband is gone and her children are grown. The sea reconciles or brings together all that is within it, especially during storms when the sea swells – everything that the touches the water becomes engulfed in it and a part of it. The sea is claiming back what is its own; in this case it is a metaphor for the woman claiming her own body back as her own.
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I do agree Amanda on your insights that the grandmother in the poem "Claims" mean that she regains again her territory where in no duties or chores needed to be done any more because of her old age and that her daughters are fully grown women. The pact that is said in the poem is somehow described as the grandmother's responsibilities and duties that she plays in her life as a mother and wife. In addition, the grandmother's response is a little bit typical for me because grandmothers usually rest after the chores and duties they always do to their family most especially seeing their children growing up. It seems that "like the sea", the grandmother is like a guardian looking after for her family as she gets back her old day role in life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely and I aslo belive that she is claiming back her territory because she has to move on as well.
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteI saw the sea as a metaphor for the grandmother retreating, as the sea does. To me it was the author's way of saying the grandmother was never going to have sex or babies again; that part of her life was over; she was retreating back to living the lifestyle she once had. The pact was made with men and nature because it took a man and an act of nature for her to become pregnant and bear children fulfilling what she felt was her obligation as a woman. I agree with you the territory she is regaining is control of her own body. I really liked what you wrote about the sea reconciling and your metaphor about the sea reclaiming it's own like the woman is reclaiming her body.
:)