Quote:
Originally Posted by Turner Cassity
Women's Work
Twelve dollars took the box of antique lace
and linens, as the hasty gavel fell.
Later at home unpacking, she can tell
she got a bargain: finely crocheted place
mats, quaint embroidered guest towels, napkins, heaps
of doilies, table runners -- all hand-done.
A woman's work of hours contrived each one
only to wrap and pack away for keeps.
The auctioneer had sketched a few brief clues:
a country homestead, maybe a trousseau
left in a trunk a century ago.
And after all, they're much too good to use.
She smoothes away the wrinkles, lays the best
on top, and stores them in her cedar chest.
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The opposition set up between "quaint" and "trousseau" on one hand and fine handwork on the other is significant. Having bought and sold antique handmade textiles on rare occasions, both from the East and Europe/the Americas, I know they have increased considerably in monetary value as women have become more financially independent. Yet in most cases they are still (and were before the recent crash) undervalued compared to other types of handcrafted work. The poem evokes international memories for me and no doubt for others who have seen or owned and pondered the time and reflection spent in the making. Not just memories, but the imagining of history and biography.
One is still torn between making "everyday use" (be sure to read Alice Walker's story with that title if you haven't already) of these items and putting them on display or storing them away in the bottom of a closet. Which I think affirms the importance of the sentiments here expressed. Consider that fragments of textiles thousands of years old have been recovered from sites on most continents. The first link below shows a 7,000-year-old fragment of Egyptian linen.
http://blog.ounodesign.com/2008/10/3...-in-the-world/
http://www.comp-archaeology.org/Jakes_rmizreport.htm
http://www.adireafricantextiles.com/...textintro5.htm
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kbruhns/textile.htm
Also, Alicia's suggestion to move L12 to the end is crucial to the power of this poem.