The second verse begins by highlighting what the woman hated about the man: “Your solid self, long leagues away, Deep in dull books, had hardly missed me”. This quote illustrates that the man was by no means perfect; the woman hated him always reading books and giving the impression that he did not care about her. However, she says that he would always make up for it at the right time for instance it reads “You found this Romeo’s way, And through the blossom climbed and kissed me.” When looking back on relationships, one often believes it to be better than it really was and this is an example of where she realises that their relationship was not so sweet.
In the third verse the woman realises that she did not really love him. Finally she sums up her feelings in the last verse; how he was so flattering and how she wishes for that pampering again but in the end says how he actually bored her. She introduces a small amount of ambiguity and gives the impression that she has not completely made up her mind yet in the first two words “Oh, dear”, this could mean that she is cursing or that she is remembering their relationship. The ghost puts the woman into a false reverie of how wonderful he was but when it disappears, reality comes back into play.
“A Woman to Her Lover” is a poem concentrating on how a woman has decided that she does not want to be like all the other women of her time and be ruled by their husbands. She wishes to lead an equal life where she can be a “comrade, friend, and mate” of her husband. The poem begins with the woman questioning the motives of her husband, she asks: “Do you come to me to bend me to your will”. She then explains the unfair duties that she is expected to perform for her husband. She has to have his children, give up her body for his pleasure and worship him. This is all very negative and she quotes herself as being a “wakened woman” meaning she has thought through her life and she is very self aware and political; like a man of the time.
The third verse shows the pity that the woman has for the man, she indicates that she thinks it is sad that that his mind is so one tracked, that her body is “supple only for your sense delight”.
In the final verse, she begins by stating to her husband what she wants from him: “if you ask me, That I shall be your comrade, friend, and mate … O husband, I am yours forever.” The entire final verse is positive; she tries to emphasise that she wishes to live in equality with him. An example of this is towards the end of the verse where she states: “our co-equal love will make the stars laugh with joy”. The word co-equal does not add any more meaning to the sentence than just using the word equal but it clearly emphasises the point she is trying to put across. This final verse was a very important addition to the poem because it adds a whole new dimension to it. It shows that the woman does have positive feelings and is not simply criticising everything.
The two poems are similar in the respect that they were both written by women in the 19th century and they are about their male lovers. They are very different however in another respect as “Villegiature” is about how the lover has left and that the woman did not love him and “A Woman to Her Lover” is about a woman who does love her husband and is making demands on him because she has realised that she does not want to live a life ruled by him. “Villegiature” is also looking back into the past; her relationship with a man who is now no longer around and “A Woman to Her Lover” is looking forward; the woman realising that she does not want her future to be like the normal Victorian wife but wants equality. “Villegiature” is less emotional than “A Woman to Her Lover” too; this is because the woman is not in love.
