“Housewife” by Anne Sexton: A Critical Analysis

Introduction: “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

“Housewife” by Anne Sexton, first appeared in 1962 in her poetry collection All My Pretty Ones, captures Sexton’s unique perspective on the role of women, especially as homemakers, during the mid-20th century, offering a critique of societal expectations placed on women. With striking imagery, she presents the house as both a haven and a trap, suggesting that the house “eats” the woman, symbolizing how traditional roles can consume personal identity. This piece became popular for its bold portrayal of feminist ideas and its candid exploration of the inner lives of women, resonating with readers during the feminist movements of the 1960s and 70s. Sexton’s fearless engagement with topics like gender roles, domesticity, and mental health has made Housewife a lasting work that continues to evoke critical conversations on women’s autonomy and societal constraints.

Text: “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

Some women marry houses.
It’s another kind of skin; it has a heart,
a mouth, a liver and bowel movements.
The walls are permanent and pink.
See how she sits on her knees all day,
faithfully washing herself down.
Men enter by force, drawn back like Jonah
into their fleshy mothers.
A woman is her mother.
That’s the main thing.

Annotations: “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

Line	Annotation
“Some women marry houses.”	The opening line introduces a metaphor where the woman marries her home, indicating a profound attachment or an imposed identity intertwined with domesticity. “Marrying houses” symbolizes how some women are confined within domestic roles, treating the house as if it were a life partner.
“It’s another kind of skin;”	This line suggests that the house becomes an extension of the woman herself, like a second skin. It implies how deeply personal and consuming this relationship with the domestic space is, as though the woman’s own identity is enmeshed in her surroundings.
“it has a heart, a mouth, a liver and bowel movements.”	By describing the house with organs, Sexton personifies it, illustrating it as a living, breathing entity. This creates an image of the house as a body, reflecting the woman’s life and implying that the house “consumes” her energy, life, and labor.
“The walls are permanent and pink.”	Here, the walls symbolize stability but also restriction. “Permanent” suggests an inescapable quality, while “pink” hints at traditional femininity or stereotypical feminine aesthetics, highlighting gendered expectations of women’s spaces.
“See how she sits on her knees all day,”	This line portrays the woman in a position of servitude and ritualistic care, almost as if she’s worshipping or submitting to the house. The image of kneeling is evocative of submission, sacrifice, or duty, emphasizing her dedication to the home.
“faithfully washing herself down.”	Washing “herself” down can symbolize the blurring of identity between the woman and the house. By cleaning the house, she metaphorically cleans herself, emphasizing that her self-worth is bound to the maintenance of the domestic space.
“Men enter by force, drawn back like Jonah”	This line introduces men into the poem, describing them as entering the home forcefully, possibly alluding to a sense of dominance or control. The comparison to Jonah suggests they are “swallowed” or return to a motherly space, with the house as a stand-in for the maternal body.
“into their fleshy mothers.”	This imagery likens the house to a motherly figure, echoing the maternal role many women are expected to fulfill in the household. It also indicates that the home represents safety and nurturing, although this may be confining for women.
“A woman is her mother.”	This line reinforces the cycle of generational roles and expectations, suggesting that a woman’s identity is inherited or defined by her role as a mother and caretaker. It emphasizes how societal norms expect women to mirror their mothers’ lives.
“That’s the main thing.”	The concluding line drives home the poem’s critical message: that women’s identities are often reduced to their maternal and domestic roles. It implies resignation, as if these roles are ultimately inescapable, reflecting the internalized expectations of gender norms.

Literary And Poetic Devices: “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

Device	Example	Explanation
Allusion	“Jonah”	Refers to the Biblical story of Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale. Here, it suggests men are “swallowed” by the home, paralleling their return to a motherly space.
Analogy	“Some women marry houses.”	Compares women’s relationship to their homes to marriage, emphasizing the deep, consuming bond and the confinement in traditional domestic roles.
Assonance	“walls are permanent and pink”	The repetition of the “a” sound in “walls” and “are” creates a soft, melodic quality, which contrasts with the permanence and constraint implied by the words.
Caesura	“That’s the main thing.”	A pause at the end of this line serves as a final, conclusive thought, creating an abrupt stop to emphasize the inevitability of women becoming like their mothers.
Consonance	“Marry houses”	The repetition of the “s” sound in “marry” and “houses” softens the phrase, ironically making the confinement sound gentle, though it represents restriction.
Enjambment	“See how she sits on her knees all day,”	This line flows into the next without punctuation, emphasizing the continuous, unending labor and dedication the woman has toward the house.
Extended Metaphor	The house as a living body	Sexton extends the house metaphor by giving it human organs, portraying it as a living entity that absorbs the woman’s energy, thus consuming her identity.
Hyperbole	“sits on her knees all day”	Exaggerates the time spent by the woman cleaning, implying a relentless, almost sacrificial dedication to domestic labor.
Imagery	“walls are permanent and pink”	Evokes a visual image of confinement with the “permanent walls” and stereotypical femininity with “pink,” reinforcing traditional roles imposed on women.
Irony	“faithfully washing herself down”	The irony lies in the fact that she’s not actually washing herself but the house, yet she sees it as an extension of herself, showcasing her blurred identity.
Metaphor	“marry houses”	The phrase compares the woman’s role in the home to marriage, highlighting the deep, binding nature of her relationship with domestic life.
Metonymy	“walls”	The walls represent the entire house, and metaphorically, the constraints of domestic life that surround the woman.
Paradox	“A woman is her mother.”	This line suggests that despite being an individual, a woman’s identity is inextricably tied to her role, echoing her mother’s life, creating a cycle of identity loss.
Personification	“it has a heart, a mouth, a liver and bowel movements”	Giving the house bodily organs personifies it, suggesting it’s a living entity that consumes the woman’s labor and life force.
Repetition	“a heart, a mouth, a liver”	The list of organs emphasizes the house as a body, stressing the completeness of the woman’s absorption into her role as homemaker.
Simile	“like Jonah”	Compares men entering the home to Jonah being swallowed by a whale, emphasizing their return to a nurturing but engulfing maternal space.
Symbolism	“pink”	The color pink symbolizes traditional femininity and reinforces stereotypical gender roles, suggesting that the woman’s space is decorated with societal expectations.
Synecdoche	“walls”	The walls represent the entire home, illustrating how the woman’s identity and her physical space are inseparably linked.
Theme	Domestic confinement, identity loss	The theme highlights the limited, consuming nature of domestic life for women, who often lose their identity to their roles as caretakers and homemakers.
Tone	Resigned, critical	The poem’s tone is reflective yet critical, as it underscores the inevitability and restrictiveness of traditional domestic roles for women.

Themes: “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

1. Domestic Confinement and Identity Loss: The theme of domestic confinement is vividly portrayed through the metaphor of women “marrying houses.” This line suggests that women’s identities are inextricably bound to the domestic sphere, so much so that their sense of self merges with the home itself. Sexton emphasizes this loss of individuality by describing the house as having “a heart, a mouth, a liver and bowel movements,” signifying that the house is a living entity that consumes the woman’s labor and identity. The metaphor of the house becoming an “extension of skin” underscores how the domestic space engulfs her, blending the boundaries between the woman’s identity and her role as a homemaker.
2. Generational Expectations and Maternal Legacy: Sexton touches upon the theme of inherited roles and societal expectations for women, particularly in the line, “A woman is her mother. That’s the main thing.” This line speaks to the cycle of generational expectations, suggesting that women are often expected to replicate the lives of their mothers, bound to the same domestic roles and responsibilities. By stating “the main thing,” Sexton implies an almost inescapable fate for women to assume their mothers’ identities, highlighting the societal pressure for women to conform to traditional roles within the household.
3. Gendered Spaces and Traditional Femininity: The description of the “walls [that] are permanent and pink” symbolizes how domestic spaces are traditionally gendered, marked by societal expectations of femininity. The color “pink” alludes to stereotypical representations of femininity, suggesting that the woman’s space is defined and even constrained by traditional gender roles. The permanence of the walls hints at the rigidity of these roles, emphasizing how deeply entrenched and inescapable they are for many women. The line reinforces how society shapes the environment of the domestic space to embody femininity, contributing to the overall sense of confinement in the woman’s life.
4. Power Dynamics and Male Authority: In Housewife, Sexton explores the theme of male dominance within the domestic sphere, especially in the line, “Men enter by force, drawn back like Jonah into their fleshy mothers.” This imagery depicts men as forcefully entering the home, which symbolizes a sense of male authority and control over the domestic space. The reference to “Jonah” suggests that men view the home as a nurturing, motherly space they return to for comfort, yet their entrance is marked by force, implying an imbalance of power and control. This line reflects how men may take for granted the nurturing role of women, highlighting the one-sided expectations of domestic roles and the imbalance in household dynamics.

Literary Theories and “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

Literary Theory	Application to Housewife by Anne Sexton	References from the Poem
Feminist Theory	Housewife can be analyzed through a feminist lens to highlight the societal expectations placed on women, especially regarding their roles in the domestic sphere. Feminist critics would argue that the poem critiques the ways women are confined to homemaking and lose their identities within these roles. This perspective underscores Sexton’s portrayal of the home as a place of confinement rather than fulfillment.	The line “Some women marry houses” emphasizes how women are expected to devote themselves entirely to the home, likening this commitment to a marriage. Additionally, “A woman is her mother” reflects the cyclical and generational constraints placed on women, where they inherit and replicate their mothers’ roles, showcasing a lack of autonomy.
Psychoanalytic Theory	Through a psychoanalytic lens, Housewife can be viewed as a reflection of the woman’s internal conflict and unconscious struggle with her role. The house symbolizes the “id” or suppressed desires, consuming the woman’s sense of self. This analysis might suggest that the woman’s obsessive care for the house reflects her repressed identity and feelings of self-neglect, which are channeled into her domestic tasks.	The description of the house as having “a heart, a mouth, a liver and bowel movements” suggests that the house is a living entity, almost like a surrogate body for the woman, signifying her projection of self onto her surroundings. Her “faithful” cleaning could indicate an attempt to satisfy an unconscious need for control or purpose, reinforcing the internalization of her assigned role.
Marxist Theory	From a Marxist perspective, Housewife can be interpreted as a critique of how domestic labor is undervalued in a capitalist society. The poem highlights how women’s unpaid labor in the home supports patriarchal structures, as the woman’s role in maintaining the household facilitates the male’s return to a nurturing space without reciprocation. Marxist critics might view the woman’s confinement to the home as a form of exploitation that benefits the larger social and economic system.	The line “Men enter by force” implies a sense of entitlement men have within the domestic sphere, highlighting the imbalance of power. Additionally, “walls are permanent and pink” suggests the rigid, gendered roles imposed by society, indicating that the woman’s labor and identity are confined to this socially constructed space, which serves the needs of others.

Critical Questions about “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

• How does Sexton portray the relationship between women and domestic spaces in “Housewife?“
• Sexton portrays the relationship between women and domestic spaces as one of entrapment and identity erosion. By describing how “Some women marry houses,” she suggests that women’s identities become subsumed by their domestic roles, as if their lives are dedicated to serving their homes. The house becomes “another kind of skin,” symbolizing the extent to which a woman’s personal identity is merged with her domestic space, almost as if the house becomes an extension of her own body. This metaphor emphasizes that the home is not just a place but a confining identity, showing the often inescapable nature of traditional domestic roles for women. Through this portrayal, Sexton raises questions about how societal expectations can limit and define women’s lives within the home.
• In what ways does the poem critique generational cycles of domestic roles for women?
• “Housewife” critiques the generational cycle of domestic roles by suggesting that women are destined to follow in their mothers’ footsteps, bound by tradition and societal norms. The line “A woman is her mother” underscores this theme, as it implies that women are expected to inherit their mothers’ roles without question. Sexton’s use of the phrase “That’s the main thing” gives a sense of inevitability, as if this inheritance is unavoidable and central to a woman’s identity. By depicting this cycle, Sexton challenges the reader to question the fairness of these roles and consider the limited choices that have historically defined women’s lives, thereby critiquing the lack of autonomy women often have in escaping these generational expectations.
• How does Sexton address themes of power and control within the household in the poem?
• Sexton addresses themes of power and control by exploring the dynamic between men and women in the domestic space, particularly highlighting the unequal authority that men hold over the household. The line “Men enter by force, drawn back like Jonah into their fleshy mothers” reveals a power imbalance; while men come and go freely, women remain tethered to the home. The imagery of “force” suggests an imposition of male authority, while comparing men to Jonah swallowed by a whale hints at their entitlement to the nurturing space without equal responsibility. Sexton’s choice of words illustrates the societal expectation that women maintain and sustain the home, while men are merely visitors. This critique of domestic power dynamics reveals how women’s roles in the household often limit their agency and control.
• What is the significance of the poem’s tone, and how does it affect the reader’s interpretation of the domestic role?
• The tone of “Housewife”is reflective yet critical, tinged with irony as it underscores the confining nature of traditional domestic roles. Phrases like “faithfully washing herself down” illustrate the woman’s near-religious dedication to her home, yet there’s a sense of irony in that she is not literally “washing herself” but the house. This ironic tone highlights the absurdity of women devoting themselves so entirely to a role that offers little personal fulfillment or recognition. The tone is further intensified by the closing line, “That’s the main thing,” which reads as resigned and final, as though there is no escape from these expectations. This tone shapes the reader’s interpretation, encouraging a critical view of the domestic role as an identity that consumes rather than liberates, challenging the reader to consider the hidden costs of traditional gender roles.

Literary Works Similar to “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

1. “The Applicant” by Sylvia Plath
   Similar to Housewife, this poem critiques the traditional roles and expectations placed on women, particularly within marriage and domesticity, highlighting how women are often reduced to their utility.
2. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich
   This poem explores the theme of female confinement within marriage, where Aunt Jennifer’s domestic life restricts her freedom, much like the woman in Housewife is confined by her role within the home.
3. “What’s That Smell in the Kitchen?” by Marge Piercy
   Piercy’s poem reflects a woman’s frustration with domestic expectations and the burdens of household responsibilities, resonating with Sexton’s exploration of a woman’s identity consumed by domestic roles.
4. “Her Kind” by Anne Sexton
   In this poem, Sexton also examines themes of female identity and societal expectations, particularly the roles that society imposes on women, paralleling the sense of entrapment seen in Housewife.
5. “To the Ladies” by Mary, Lady Chudleigh
   This 18th-century poem critiques marriage as an institution that restricts women, echoing Sexton’s portrayal of domestic life as a consuming force that can diminish a woman’s sense of self.

Representative Quotations of “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

Quotation	Context	Theoretical Perspective
“Some women marry houses.”	Opens the poem with a metaphor comparing women’s commitment to the home as akin to marriage.	Feminist Theory: Highlights the expectation for women to become bound to domestic roles.
“It’s another kind of skin;”	Suggests that the house becomes an extension of the woman’s identity, enveloping her personal self.	Psychoanalytic Theory: Indicates the merging of identity with environment, a form of self-erasure.
“it has a heart, a mouth, a liver and bowel movements.”	Personifies the house, suggesting it consumes life as a living being does.	Marxist Theory: Reflects how unpaid domestic labor sustains others but drains the woman’s identity.
“The walls are permanent and pink.”	Emphasizes the rigidity of domestic life and the gendered expectations symbolized by the color pink.	Gender Theory: Explores how spaces are gendered and how femininity is prescribed in domestic roles.
“See how she sits on her knees all day,”	Implies that the woman is in a constant state of servitude and submission within the home.	Feminist Theory: Portrays the submissive role women are expected to take on within the household.
“faithfully washing herself down.”	Ironically describes the woman as cleansing herself, though it’s actually the house she cleans.	Irony: Highlights the self-sacrifice involved in maintaining the home, losing personal identity.
“Men enter by force”	Describes men as coming into the home authoritatively, suggesting a dominance over the domestic sphere.	Power Dynamics Theory: Examines the imbalance of authority between men and women in the household.
“drawn back like Jonah into their fleshy mothers.”	Compares men to Jonah, suggesting the house is like a maternal space.	Psychoanalytic Theory: Explores maternal archetypes and the house as a space of nurturing yet entrapment.
“A woman is her mother.”	Asserts that a woman’s identity is shaped by her mother’s role, often continuing generational patterns.	Social Expectation Theory: Highlights the cycle of traditional roles passed from mother to daughter.
“That’s the main thing.”	A resigned ending, emphasizing the inevitability of these roles for women.	Structuralism: Indicates the role of societal structures in defining and limiting women’s identities.

Suggested Readings: “Housewife” by Anne Sexton

1. Middlebrook, Diane Wood. “Housewife into Poet: The Apprenticeship of Anne Sexton.” The New England Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 4, 1983, pp. 483–503. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/365101. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.
2. HOFFMAN, NANCY YANES, and JEFFREY L. LANT. “Two Perspectives on Anne Sexton.” Southwest Review, vol. 64, no. 3, 1979, pp. 209–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43468286. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.
3. Salvio, Paula M. “LOSS, MEMORY, AND THE WORK OF LEARNING: Lessons from the Teaching Life of Anne Sexton.” Personal Effects, edited by DEBORAH H. HOLDSTEIN and DAVID BLEICH, University Press of Colorado, 2001, pp. 93–118. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt46nx6f.7. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.
4. Mizejewski, Linda. “Sappho to Sexton: Woman Uncontained.” College English, vol. 35, no. 3, 1973, pp. 340–45. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/374996. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.