Author Bibliography (in progress)
Married Off (1862)
AUTHOR: Bergh, Henry
KEYWORDS: animals, dress reform, Temperance
SUMMARY (Bryn Skibo, edited Deborah Madsen)
In this long poem Bergh satirizes the practice of marrying off wealthy American daughters to impoverished European aristocracy in a commodified market that is likened to fishing and hunting. The three daughters of the Goit family, Tulip, Rose, and Lilly, need husbands. Aside from the analogies between the objectification and consumption of animals and women, the poem is relevant to the issue of veganism for the reversal of animals and humans as meat.
Following a reference to Mistress Goit’s low social class at birth, “An ancestor of old, / Was a Butcher – tho’ not a Field Marshall” (11), section VIII addresses the butchering of animals versus humans, one being better to eat than the other:
At the end of the poem Bergh uses a similar critical comparison between humans and nonhuman animals by asking the reader to look throughout the animal kingdom and note the grief felt by all animals when their offspring are killed; he then challenges the reader, reflecting on his poetic characters, to feel a similar grief and love for “your daughters, the offspring of man” (67) who are ruthlessly sold off into marriage.
Last updated on May 23rd, 2024
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