Girl at Sewing Machine
Edward Hopper, Girl at Sewing Machine (c. 1921)
Oil on canvas, 19 inches x 18 inches. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.
Oil on canvas, 19 inches x 18 inches. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.
*****
It must be warm in the room, walls the color of over-steeped tea,
the sun high,
coating the yellow brick exterior of the apartment building,
angling in on
the girl, stripped down to camisole and petticoat, sewing.
She's a busty girl,
soft, no doubt perspiring, slippery under her breasts, moisture
trapped on the back
of her neck under all that chestnut hair. She doesn't notice,
though; you can see
she's intent on her seam. She doesn't slump over the machine
but bends from the hip,
her body as attuned as her hands. Her feet, though not shown
in the painting,
are bound to be pudgy, are probably bare, pumping the treadle
ka-chunk ka-chunk ka-chunk
but that's unconscious. Her point of concentration is the needle,
silver, quick,
its chick chick chick chick chick, necessity to keep the material
in perfect position,
position. What is she making? The fabric looks heavy and yet
billowy, like
whipped cream, or cumulus clouds; certain girls, while large, move
with grace (when nobody's
there) but in public, conceal, or try to conceal, their bodies
beneath long clothes.
They favor long hair, feeling it wimples and veils embarrassment.
Yes, I know this girl.
Only in her room, only when unseen, can she relax at all, peel off
a hot blouse,
a brown skirt, like the one heaped on her bed in the background,
take pleasure in
a good hairbrush, the bottle of scent on the dresser, the picture
of her own choosing
on the wall. Whatever she's making--let's go ahead and say it's
a dress for herself--
she is not, as you might think, dreaming of a party, a dance,
or a wedding. No, she's
deciding to flat-fell that seam--time-consuming, but worth it--
stronger, better-looking.
I'm sure she knows by now not to expect much attention from boys.
She's what? twenty?
eighteen? She will, in time, use many words to describe herself,
not all of them bad;
but not once will one of them be "pretty," or "lovely." Those
aren't for a fat girl
though she can take a mass of cloth, and a cast-iron machine,
and make a beautiful shape.
Mary Leader
About the Artist
Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967)
a prominent American realist painter and printmaker.
He was born in Nyack, Upper New York. While he was most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Both in his urban and rural scenes, his spare and finely calculated renderings reflected his personal vision of modern American life. Hopper died in his studio in New York City on May 15, 1967. His wife, gave his collection over three thousand paintings to the Whitney Museum of Art.
a prominent American realist painter and printmaker.
He was born in Nyack, Upper New York. While he was most popularly known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Both in his urban and rural scenes, his spare and finely calculated renderings reflected his personal vision of modern American life. Hopper died in his studio in New York City on May 15, 1967. His wife, gave his collection over three thousand paintings to the Whitney Museum of Art.
Self-Portrait
(1925-30 (110 Kb); Oil on canvas, 25 1/16 x 20 3/8 in; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York)
(1925-30 (110 Kb); Oil on canvas, 25 1/16 x 20 3/8 in; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York)
About the Poet
Marry Leader (1948,Pawnee, Oklahoma)
a poet and former Assistant Attorney General of Oklahoma.
Marry Leader was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma, and she graduated from the University of Oklahome in 1975, kept writing poems from then. Leader, currently teaches at Purdue University.
a poet and former Assistant Attorney General of Oklahoma.
Marry Leader was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma, and she graduated from the University of Oklahome in 1975, kept writing poems from then. Leader, currently teaches at Purdue University.
Analysis of the poem and the painting
The painting itself has a sad atmosphere. In spite of the warm colors that Edward Hopper used such as orange, red and yellow, the girl at the sewing machine looks sad and miserable. Even though we can not clearly see her facial expressions, but the way she is bending over to her work, and the position she is sitting, gives us a clue of her inner feelings. The girl is sitting at a sewing desk in front of a window, and the light coming from the window brightens her work. The painting does not have much details, it is almost sketchy except the sewing machine. Edward Hopper could have especially drawn the sewing machine with more details to make it stand out in the picture. It makes me wonder about the purpose of the painting. Did Hopper want the girl to stay in the background, like she doesn't have so much self-confidence? The poet, Mary Leader thinks this way, because in her poem she talks about the girl's insecurity, and how she will never be able to call herself pretty. The poem is not like other classic shaped poems, it has a sense that the poet is talking to us like in a daily conversation. Her tone is sincere. She starts by describing the painting, the things we see at first sight.
"It must be warm in the room, walls the color of over-steeped tea,
the sun high,
coating the yellow brick exterior of the apartment building,
angling in on
the girl, stripped down to camisole and petticoat, sewing."
The poem, as we said is not like other classic shaped poems, it is more modern and independent. It doesn't have specific rhyme patterns. To make the poem stronger she uses some sound effects,
"Her feet, though not shown
in the painting,
are bound to be pudgy, are probably bare, pumping the treadle
ka-chunk ka-chunk ka-chunk"
Giving these lines Leader also uses imagery and lets us imagine the remaining part of the scene that is not shown in the painting by the artist. Leader believes that the girl in this scene is insecure and unhappy with the perxon she truly is. She wants to change. She wants to feel stronger and better looking.
"She will, in time, use many words to describe herself,
not all of them bad;
but not once will one of them be "pretty," or "lovely." "
The poet understands that the girl is feeling miserable and is not satisfied with who she really is, but at the end she gives us a message by these lines;
"Those
aren't for a fat girl
though she can take a mass of cloth, and a cast-iron machine,
and make a beautiful shape."
People shouldn't get criticized by the way they look, a fat girl can make a pile of meaningless cloth and an iron device and create a beautiful shape.
"It must be warm in the room, walls the color of over-steeped tea,
the sun high,
coating the yellow brick exterior of the apartment building,
angling in on
the girl, stripped down to camisole and petticoat, sewing."
The poem, as we said is not like other classic shaped poems, it is more modern and independent. It doesn't have specific rhyme patterns. To make the poem stronger she uses some sound effects,
"Her feet, though not shown
in the painting,
are bound to be pudgy, are probably bare, pumping the treadle
ka-chunk ka-chunk ka-chunk"
Giving these lines Leader also uses imagery and lets us imagine the remaining part of the scene that is not shown in the painting by the artist. Leader believes that the girl in this scene is insecure and unhappy with the perxon she truly is. She wants to change. She wants to feel stronger and better looking.
"She will, in time, use many words to describe herself,
not all of them bad;
but not once will one of them be "pretty," or "lovely." "
The poet understands that the girl is feeling miserable and is not satisfied with who she really is, but at the end she gives us a message by these lines;
"Those
aren't for a fat girl
though she can take a mass of cloth, and a cast-iron machine,
and make a beautiful shape."
People shouldn't get criticized by the way they look, a fat girl can make a pile of meaningless cloth and an iron device and create a beautiful shape.
Check this amazing Prezi online to listen from another point of view!
http://prezi.com/k1o-mt7pwbfi/copy-of-girl-at-sewing-machine/?kw=view-k1o-mt7pwbfi&rc=ref-11147467