The Cherished Daugther

Story Analysis by Jaztin Tampis

REFLECTION

"The Cherished Daughter" is a poem that presents a conversation between a daughter and her mother over the years, emphasizing the daughter's growing frustration at not being married. The daughter repeatedly asks her mother about her plans for her marriage, and each time, the mother sets challenging conditions for potential suitors brought by matchmakers. As the daughter ages, the requirements become less extravagant but still demanding. In the end, the daughter, now forty-three and still unmarried, pleads with her mother to simply give her away. The poem highlights the cultural and societal pressure on women to marry and the mother's role in setting high expectations for potential suitors. “The Cherished Daughter” In the opening lines of the poem, the speaker informs her mother that she is now 18 years old and still single. She inquires about her mother's strategy, to which her mother replies that she has issued a challenge to two matchmakers: in order to win the speaker's hand in marriage, they must bring her five full quan, five thousand areca nuts, five plump pigs, and five sets of clothing.

THEMES

Marriage Pressure: As the daughter becomes older, there is pressure for her to get married, which is highlighted in the poem. The social expectation that women should get married at a reasonably young age is reflected in her mother's insistence on placing demanding requirements for possible suitors. The generational rivalry between the daughter and her mother is also mentioned in the poem. The daughter's frustration increases with each year that goes by as she continues to be single and her mother continues to place strict requirements on prospective husbands. This argument highlights how various generations have different expectations and ideals. The poem emphasizes the typical gender roles and expectations that are put on women in some societies. The daughter's principal responsibility is to get married and start a family, while the mother's function is to organize her daughter's marriage. It's obvious that the mother loves her daughter and wants the best for her despite the strict requirements she places on potential suitors. Her behaviors also reveal the constraints and demands of the cultural standards they live with. As the daughter gets older and stays single, the poem depicts her increasing irritation and desperation. Her heartfelt request to her mother to "just give me away" is a moving declaration of her need to be free from the expectations and pressures of society that have dominated her existence.

CULTURAL CONTEXT 

The poem highlights the normal gender roles and expectations that some countries have for women. The mother's role is to plan her daughter's marriage, while the daughter's primary obligation is to get married and start a family. The mother's rigorous conditions for potential suitors belie her apparent affection for her daughter and desire for the best for her. Her actions also demonstrate the limitations and requirements of the cultural norms they are subject to. In the poem, the daughter is shown to be growing more irritated and desperate as she ages and remains single. Her emotional plea to her mother to "just give me away" expresses her sincere desire to be free from the social pressures and expectations that have controlled her life. 

SYMBOLISMS

In the poem, the magpie is the daughter's messenger or middleman between potential suitors. As a representation of the customary method of arranging weddings in the culture, it brings the matchmakers to the mother of the girl. The poem's use of the magpie serves to highlight the daughter's ongoing pressure to get married. The matchmakers serve as a metaphor for the social and cultural expectations that surround marriage. Potential suitors are brought by them, highlighting the outside influences pressuring the girl toward marriage. The mother's challenges to the matchmakers represent her efforts to exert control over the situation and ensure that her daughter is matched with the right person. Quan, Areca Nuts, Pigs, and Clothes: which stand for the material and financial sides of conventional marriages. They stand in for the dowry and the wealth that will presumably be transferred during the marriage ceremony. The fluctuating quantities of these products throughout time also represent the altering standards and expectations of the daughter's prospective suitors. The daughter's age serves as a metaphor for time passing and the mounting pressure she is under to be married. The urgency of her predicament and cultural expectations that she should have been married by a particular age are highlighted by her repeated mentions of her age. The daughter's final request to her mother to "just give me away" represents her desperation and need for freedom and control over her own life. It represents her desire to be liberated from social pressures and traditional expectations so she can decide for herself what she wants to do with her life. The conflict between generations and the collision of traditional values with the daughter's aspirations for independence and self-determination are symbolized by the relationship between the mother and daughter.

LITERARY TECHNIQUES

Repetition: The poem makes use of repeated words and queries to highlight the daughter's mounting annoyance and the passing of time. The daughter's desperate plea for her mother to reveal her mother's strategy is highlighted by her repeated question, "What, Mother, is your plan?"

Imagery: The poem uses descriptions of the required quan (weight measurements), areca nuts, fat pigs, and suits of clothing to create powerful mental pictures. These pictures convey the mother's excessive and difficult demands as well as the daughter's increasing impatience.

Irony: The poem contains ironic elements, particularly in the mother's increasing demands as her daughter becomes older. The mother's requests gradually become more reasonable but continue to be unreasonable, emphasizing the pointlessness of the circumstance and the absurdity of the mother's behavior.

Metaphor: Although not overtly symbolic, the daughter's frequent inquiry of her mother, "What, Mother, is your plan?" can be interpreted as a metaphor for her larger existential doubts about her place and purpose in the world, beyond merely getting married.