18 pages • 36-minute read
An Ancient Gesture
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Symbols & Motifs
Weaving As a Symbol of Work
In Millay’s poem, weaving symbolizes difficult work. To fend off the lecherous suitors, Penelope assigns herself an occupation. She becomes a weaver and spends her day weaving a shroud for Ulysses’s dad. At night, she labors at undoing the work she accomplished during the day. Penelope has a full-time job, and the physical toil puts her bodily and mental health in jeopardy. Her arms “get tired,” and the back of her neck “gets tight” (Line 5). Mentally, she seems on the precipice of gloom as she thinks “it will never be light” (Line 6). Through the symbol of weaving, Millay expresses the strain Penelope is under and her power to endure hard labor and not lose the ability to express emotion or “burst into tears” (Line 8).
Seeing weaving as a symbol of work can also produce an interpretation where the poem’s speaker is Millay. As with Penelope, Millay worked throughout her life, and her toils hurt her body. In a 2022 article in The New Yorker, “How Fame Fed on Edna St. Vincent Millay,” Maggie Doherty notes Millay’s “mounting bodily ailments: headaches, stomach aches, hangovers, nerve pain in her shoulder and back, exhaustion.” Just as there was always weaving for Penelope to do, Millay might have felt there were always more books to write, readings to give, or lectures to present. As Millay wrote to her sister Kathleen in a 1938 letter, “I have been seriously ill, had collapse from overwork” (quoted in Rapture and Melancholy: The Diaries of Edna St. Vincent Millay, edited by Daniel Mark Epstein, Yale University Press, 2022). With weaving symbolizing arduous work and Millay working herself into a collapse, it becomes possible to see why Millay specifically might identify with Penelope.
The Light as a Symbol for Hope or Continued Torment
First, light seems to symbolize more of the same. Penelope spends her days weaving and nights unweaving. Sometimes, she doesn’t finish till “towards morning” (line 6). Maybe Penelope is finished with undoing her work, but she can’t sleep since she knows she’ll have to reweave what she unwove. In this interpretation, morning doesn’t bring hope or illumination. The speaker says, “when you think it will never be light” (Line 7), and then moves on to Penelope’s missing husband and tears. The speaker doesn’t expand upon the light. Light gets one clause. The speaker’s cursory mention of light indicates that light won’t help Penelope. It’s not that important, so it can’t bring her husband back or make it so she won’t have to weave. Light represents Penelope’s constant struggle.
Conversely, it’s possible to connect the light to Penelope’s “burst into tears” (Line 8). As morning arrives, Penelope doesn’t give up. She doesn’t surrender to suitors or quit weaving but sticks with her plan. She has hope. The light arrives and so do the tears, which are a part of “the very best tradition” (Line 12). Here, light symbolizes Penelope’s resilient power and knowledge. She still has the insight to let out her true emotions and not let her grueling labor leave her in the dark.
The mention of light links Millay’s poem to Greek writers. This time, the writers are Socrates and his student Plato. These two philosophers had a lot to say about darkness and light, with darkness signifying a shaky grasp of reality and light indicating a firm hold on what’s true. Since Penelope cries, she remains true to herself, so the light remains in her life, and there’s still hope for her.
The Entwined Idea of Pain, Fragility, and Willpower
Three motifs in the poem that are difficult to separate relate to ideas of pain, fragility, and willpower. Penelope is in a precarious spot. She’s “weaving all day / And undoing it all through the night” (Lines 3-4). The work takes its toll on Penelope’s body since her arms are “tired” and her neck “gets tight” (Line 5). Penelope is fragile and in pain. She misses her husband—she doesn’t know when or if he’s coming back. To keep the uncouth men who want to marry her away, she has to espouse painful labor. Thus, pain relates to fragility. The exhausting work demonstrates her brittleness.
At the same time, the pain and fragility reveal her willpower. The speaker says Penelope “can’t keep weaving all day” (Line 3), yet there’s no indication that Penelope plans to give up. Her pain and fragility don’t sink her determination. The tears further the idea of willpower since the speaker presents them in a forceful style. Penelope doesn’t quietly shed tears but “burst[s] into tears” (Line 8). Penelope is violent and explosive. “There is simply nothing else to do” (Line 9) but for her to express her emotions and not buy into the idea that fragility and pain preclude resolve and strength.
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