Mrs Sisyphus highlights to the reader, the implications a wife must face when having a ‘berk’ for a husband. She mentions of wanting to go for ‘so much as a walk in the park’, yet as it seems that when a man becomes wildly obsessed ‘keen as a hawk, lean as a shark,’ the importance of a woman diminishes as the size of the stone he pushes is ‘nearer the size of a kirk’. Therefore, signifying to the reader one of the many characteristics that females have within the ‘World’s Wife’ resenting their husbands. Furthermore, the poem seems partly a language game ‘jerk, kirk, perk, cork’, the rhymes and the half rhymes, give a sense of repetition that imitates Sisyphus’s punishment, yet in actual fact it is not him who seems to be punished, for his folly actions have left Mrs Sisyphus to be the actual victim plagued by his punishment. This simple yet effective rhyming scheme reinforces the idea that Mrs Sisyphus sees her husband to be nothing more then an individual to be ‘gawked’ at; some type of circus freak. Through her idiomatic tone one is able to draw out the characteristics of a woman who sees no sense in rolling a stone ‘that feckin’ no sooner up than it’s rolling back down’. This movement of the stone going up yet gravely set to an incessant downward spiral is a reflection of Mrs Sisyphus’ relationship with her husband. Similarly even though Mrs Winkle initially faces the prospect of having an elated life without her husband, sees her dreams shattered when her husband awakes ‘sitting up in bed rattling viagra’. Duffy conveys, the position of Mrs Winkle within their relationship, she seems nothing more then object for sex and pleasure for her husband. Bound by the ever conventionalist view of women being nothing more then the property of men. Not only deeply patronising, but in all places and at all times, suggesting only men are of importance, and their wife’s are mere appendages. After all she had taken up food and given up exercise ‘ it did me good’ a reversal of what one would associate as being ‘good’ or in the eyes of her husband being seen as an attractive woman. The fact that her self worth is associated by her physical attributes highlights Duffy’s anger at how male emblems seem to place women in a position where only objectification is possible. Even more so, Duffy hints that in order for a female to find true happiness she must remove the realms that bind her, ‘but what was best, hands-down beat the rest was saying a none-too-fond- farewell to sex’. We as the reader are made to feel the excitement and happiness that Mrs Rip Van Winkle is going through yet as soon as it arrives, her dream comes to a close at the eventual awakening of her husband. Thus, a sense of pathos is created and one can only pity the situation she finds herself in.
Therefore, on a larger scale reminding the reader of two poems that serve as a repertoire to the ‘World’s Wife’, as the somewhat condescending title is a clever over turning of ‘the world and his wife’ implying that women are the property of men. Yet with this exaltation of men, we see that these two poems are not only reminders of the feminist characteristic of ‘The World’s Wife’ but these two women have been given voices by Duffy. Consequently, archetypes for how women respond to male domination reversing the idea of patriachalism and replacing it with an order based on feminine virtues. The common theme running throughout Duffy’s poem is that every woman has a female, prerogative one in which they break the boundaries of the subservient and mundane life style that has been bestowed upon them by their husbands. As Mrs Rip Van Winkle initially allows us to be aware of ‘while he slept I found some hobbies’, and she eventually has the ability to pursue her ‘dreams’. Where as Mrs Sisyphus seems less dominated by her husband albeit longing for his attention serving as a contrast to that of Mrs Rip Van Winkle.
The style in which Mrs Sisyphus has been written seems conversation and idiomatic, talking direct to the reader. ‘That’s him’, allowing for one to gain a better insight into Mrs Sisyphus’ opinions and views as the colloquialism allow the reader to appeal and relate more to the poem. ‘Load of old bollocks’ therefore, giving an informal tone to the poem yet making it seem that much more real. Furhtermore, the structure of the poem mimics the movement of the rock as it goes back and forth. In addition the rhyming scheme used within the poem ‘ jerk, kirk, berk’ seems to convey the anger of Mrs Sisyphus, each word ending in a ‘K’ the harsh tone given at the end of each word is an elaborate reminder of how Mrs Sisyphus is made to feel .In contrast Mrs Rip Van Winkle seems a much more easy flowing poem, each stanza containing only three lines and the first line being the shortest, depicting various time periods and events. The purpose of this is to convey how short lived they actually are for Mrs Winkle, as the poem initially starts with three lines and then ends with three also highlights the entrapment of Mrs Winkle, she began and ended with absolutely the same not being able to permanently free herself.
Thus to conclude, both poems seem characteristic of the ‘Worlds Wife’ not only defying male conventionalism, yet also making the reader aware of relationships that seem to be governed by men. Duffy highlights, not just in these poems but many others in her collection that in order for a woman, to be truly happy she must step out of the web that she has trapped herself into. For a woman also play a very important part in a society and patriarchal views will only ever begin to deteriorate if females begin to make a stand.