I gave myself to Him —
And took Himself, for Pay,
The solemn contract of a Life
Was ratified, this way —
The Wealth might disappoint —
Myself a poorer prove
Than this great Purchaser suspect,
The Daily Own — of Love
Depreciate the Vision —
But till the Merchant buy —
Still Fable — in the Isles of Spice —
The subtle Cargoes — lie —
At least — ’tis Mutual — Risk —
Some — found it — Mutual Gain —
Sweet Debt of Life — Each Night to owe —
Insolvent — every Noon —
——
The use of financial terms to describe marriage is the most noticeable aspect of the work and lends it an obvious social dimension. However, these specifics confuse me.
1. In the fifth line, whose “wealth” does she mean? It seems to refer to herself, as is corroborated by her subsequent admission that she is not the best catch (“Myself a poorer prove…”).
2. The entire third stanza is weird. It is a coontinuation of the final line of the second stanza (“The Daily Own — of Love Depreciate the Vision”). I am not sure what that even means. The comparison to commerce is odd too (“But till the Merchant buy — Still Fable — in the Isles of Spice — The subtle Cargoes — lie”). If the merchant is the husband, and the woman is the commodity, it could mean that, until the merchant obtains the commodity, he will romanticize its value.
3. The final line confuses me too. It seems to refer to the idea that wives owe sex to their husbands, but the woman is nonetheless indebted to the man once the sex is over. It could also mean she is unable to have sex at noon for some reason.
What do you think?
by Formiddabledrip