Blog Post #4

After doing a bit of research on the poem "Diving Into The Wreck" by Adrienne Rich, I have found that it can be analyzed as a poem about climbing up the corporate ladder as a woman. I believe that this is valid but it can be interpreted in other ways. My interpretation is that this poem is about puberty and the inevitable coming into womanhood. I shall analyze some of my favorite lines. She has first read "the book of myths...put on the body-armor of black rubber, the absurd flippers, the grave and awkward mask" which is a metaphor for her body changing during puberty. She has read and been educated about puberty but she can't fathom the transitional period she will go through until she has personally endured it. It's awkward and emotional, which is why she feels like she is wearing something uncomfortable like flippers and masking her changing emotions. The subject of this poem feels grave and irritable in her new body/surge of hormones. She has to do this alone, regardless of the support of other women. After all, it is her body and is directly affecting her. She continues to be crippled by her body image, where she feels like an insignificant insect. The wreck itself is what she believes her body to be and she investigates it, perhaps in a mirror. She sees the negatives but also the positive aspects or "treasures". She eventually finds her way to womanhood but she is still one of many and her name will certainly not appear in any history books for this particular achievement.