18 pages • 36-minute read
Diving into the Wreck
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Symbols & Motifs
Mer-People
The mer-creatures of the eighth stanza represent the speaker’s transformation, and her attempt to heal and unify the wrongdoings of the patriarchy. She writes, “And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair / streams black, the merman in his armored body…I am she: I am he” (Lines 72-73, 77). The speaker’s exploration and discovery include the embodiment of a mythical being of both genders, suggesting that she has transcended typical gender norms and moved outside of their historically wrought limitations. The “we” person she has become has a more complete understanding of the “thing itself and not the myth” (Line 63), having experienced it first-hand. The mer-figure also provides a sense of grit and hope in the final lines of the poem, suggesting that although “our names do not appear” (Line 94) in the book of myths, they are “the one who find our way / back to this scene” (Lines 89-90).
Book of Myths
The Book of Myths the speaker first reads and then refers to throughout the poem represents preexisting patriarchal and gender norms in her contemporary society. The book has thus far been incomplete. It has provided her with “purposes” and “maps” (Lines 53, 54), but “the story of the wreck” (Line 62) cannot match the experience of “the thing itself” (Line 63). The speaker says that “our names do not appear” (Line 94) in the book, emphasizing how the singular presentation of the world has failed to include entire segments of people. The book has presented divided, unfair gender roles, and the speaker’s mixing of the genders of the mer-creatures reflects her desire to contradict, or perhaps rewrite, the book of myths. The speaker has always felt the incompleteness of the book, and her impetus to dive into the ocean stems from having read the book and found it lacking. She needs to journey down to see the wreck itself so that she better understands the truth of it, and she needs to add her own voice to the book so that she is part of history and the future; she is no longer silenced.
The Wreck
The titular wreck of Rich’s poem provides rich metaphorical weight. While it holds up as a representation of the speaker’s own personal history and trauma, critics often interpret it on a larger social scale, representing the historical manifestations of patriarchy and sexism in western culture. The speaker says that she “came to see the damage that was done / and the treasures that prevail” (Lines 55-56). She understands the complexity of women’s historical roles and experiences but also casts them, despite any existing treasures, as being a damaged wreck; as an explorer, she wants to better understand the wreck so that she can face it head on and seek a path of healing, or a way forward. The poem argues that to do so is a difficult and dangerous task, one that requires a great deal of vulnerability and courage, as the speaker must enter the water and experience the discomfort and fear of entering the literally uncharted territory of an alternate history and possible future.
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