Poor Choices Made in "Pathedy of Manners".
Life if full of choices, and it is not always easy to make the right decisions. Ellen .
Kay's poem, "Pathedy of Manners" is about a brilliant young woman and the consequences of the choices she makes in her life. The young woman in this poem starts off with a promising future. However, because she chooses to excel in worldly ideals, she misses out in finding true happiness that comes from self - accomplishment, a loving relationship, and a family to share it with.
The young woman in this poem begins her adult life with abundant potential for self - accomplishment, but she gives it up in order to fit in with the upper class of society.The first stanza describes her as an attractive, intelligent and outgoing individual. She has .
everything she needs for a great future; however, "She hung up her diploma," (9) to .
become an expert in vanity. She learns the jargon of the upper class and how to tell real .
"Wedgewood china from a fraud" (12). Instead of forming and expressing her own opinions about various kinds of art and music, she learns what to praise and what to ridicule in order to be accepted. Line eight says: "And when she might have thought conversed instead." Her first mistake was surrendering her own personality and .
individuality. Consequently, she became fake and empty. .
Instead of seeking a true, meaningful relationship, the young woman seeks out a well-.
to-do husband, "whose pearl cufflinks were real" (14). There is no mention of love, in their relationship, so it is safe to assume that their marriage is built upon money and lust. .
She makes yet another poor choice by settling for money and lust instead of humility and love.
Her final bad decision occurs when she and her husband bring unfortunate children into the world. It is obvious that she and her husband are almost never home to spend time with their children. The fourth stanza describes her "kids" as "ideal / but lonely children in an ideal house" (15-16).
